Si 


SEQUEL 
TO 

EXPERIENCES  OF  A  BOY 


By  His  Father's  Son 


BAKER  PRINTING  Co. 

NEWARK,  N.  J. 

1911 


COPYRIGHT,  1911 

by 
E.  F.  HARTSHORN 


if  3 


u.  c. 

ACADEMY   OF 

PACIFIC  COAST 
HISTORY 


These  reminiscences   are   affectionately   dedicated 
to  his  grandchildren 

BY  THE  AUTHOR 


SEQUEL 

TO 


Experiences  of  a  Boy 


CHAPTER    I. 

The  narrative  of  the  Experiences  of  a  Boy  closed 
with  the  words,  "His  life  thereafter  was  the  usual 
humdrum  one  that  obtains  on  shore."  That  was  in- 
tended; but  many  events  happened  afterwards  that 
it  seemed  advisable  to  record  and  in  the  following 
pages  those  happenings  will  be  brought  to  the  at- 
tention of  those  who  may  care  to  delve  through  this 
book. 

The  landing  of  our  friend  in  San  Francisco  was 
just  before  the  end  of  the  early  period  and  before 
the  city  took  on  its  cosmopolitan  character,  which 
occurred  about  the  year  1882.  At  this  time  'Frisco, 
as  it  was  familiarly  called,  was  a  city  of  some  im- 
portance, having  about  160,000  people,  60,000  of 
these  being  Chinamen.  A  strange  city,  a  distinctive 
city,  with  characteristics  that  made  it  a  lovable  city 
to  those  who  were  proud  to  call  themselves  Califor- 
nians.  Life  was  lived  in  a  free  and  easy  manner 
that  was  abhorent  to  a  few  strait-laced  individ- 


uals  who  may  have  struggled  in  from  the  Far  East ; 
but  to  the  vast  majority  of  strangers,  the  local 
color  proved  fascinating. 

Californians  were  so  imbued  with  the  glorious 
conditions  that  they  were  loud  in  their  praises  of 
their  city,  their  country,  and  their  climate.  Their 
city  was  bound  to  rival  New  York  in  size;  their 
country  had  the  richest  soil  in  the  world  and  the 
weather  conditions  were  superb;  they  had  the  pret- 
tiest women  and  the  healthiest  children;  in  fact, 
nothing  could  be  uttered  by  a  true  Calif ornian  too 
flattering  for  this  earthly  paradise.  The  remark 
was  often  made  that  you  had  only  to  tickle  the  earth 
with  a  hoe  to  raise  anything  that  would  grow  else- 
where in  the  Tropic  or  Temperate  Zones.  The 
mines  were  rich  in  all  the  precious  metals,  and  silver 
and  gold  being  so  accessible,  why  should  they  use 
paper  money  ?  They  did  not,  and  when  a  tenderfoot 
would  try  to  pass  a  bill,  good  everywhere  else  in  the 
United  States,  he  would  be  surprised  at  the  indif- 
ferent manner  with  which  it  was  refused. 

Their  mountains  were  many  and  high.  Their 
plains  were  level,  wide  and  long,  extending  far  be- 
yond the  power  of  vision.  A  gentleman  from  Ver- 
mont;, in  answer  to  a  naturally  warm  description  by 
a  native  while  passing  over  one  of  these  valleys, 
level  as  a  barn  floor,  stated : 

"By  gad!  If  I  owned  ten  acres  of  it,  I  would 
build  a  hill  on  it." 


That  remark  proved  that  the  tenderfoot  did  not 
thoroughly  appreciate  the  grand  possibilities  of  this 
glorious  country. 

On  landing,  our  friend  took  up  quarters  in  the 
What  Cheer  House,  a  popular  resort  of  the  period. 
He  had  a  fair  amount  in  gold  coin,  Instead  of  de- 
positing it  with  the  clerk  of  the  hotel,  he  rolled  his 
waistcoat  around  it  and  placed  the  same  under  his 
pillow  when  retiring.  Awakening  out  of  sound 
slumber  by  his  head  moving,  he  noticed  the  gar- 
ment one  quarter  exposed,  and  giving  a  loud  yell, 
sprang  out  of  bed  and  followed  a  fleeing  figure 
down  the  hall.  The  rascal  escaped.  Returning  to 
the  room  which  contained  two  beds,  his  fellow 
lodger  was  told  the  cause  of  the  outcry. 

"All  nonsense,"  was  the  reply;  "you  have  only 
had  a  nightmare." 

Our  friend  knew  otherwise,  as  he  distinctly  saw 
the  fleeing  figure.  In  contrast,  the  following  event 
will  prove  that  there  was  a  difference  between  the 
city  and  country: 

A  few  days  afterwards  our  friend  got  acquainted 
with  an  old  Californian  who  suggested  that  they  go 
up  in  the  mountains  to  look  up  the  possibilities  of 
engaging  in  a  speculation.  They  started  in  a  stage 
coach  and  rode  quite  a  distance,  then  proceeded  on 
horseback  until  the  edge  of  dark.  After  getting  a 
feed  in  a  wayside  shack,  they  started  to  hoof  it 
farther  up  the  mountains  to  their  destination.  Ar- 


10 

riving  at  a  so-called  hotel,  built  of  rough  boards, 
they  entered  a  barroom  filled  with  miners  in  red 
shirts,  with  pantaloons  stuffed  in  their  cowhide 
boots,  each  with  a  revolver  stuck  in  his  belt.  These 
men  did  not  look  like  a  Christian  assemblage. 

The  Californian  went  up  to  the  barkeeper  pro- 
prietor and  told  him  that  a  room  was  wanted  in 
which  to  turn  in  for  the  night. 

The  barkeeper  stated :  "That  is  all  right.  Go  up- 
stairs and  take  the  first  room  to  the  right." 

The  strangers  arrived  in  the  room,  which  con- 
tained two  beds  and  a  small  pine  table.  Our  friend 
tried  to  shut  the  door,  but  the  lock  was  broken  and 
the  door  would  not  stay  shut.  He  then  took  hold 
of  the  table  and  began  to  tote  it  to  the  door. 

The  Californian  shouted,  "What  are  you  doing  ?" 

The  reply  came,  "I  am  taking  this  table  to  hold 
the  door  shut.  We  both  have  some  money  and  there 
is  a  terribly  rough  crowd  below." 

The  Californian  fired  back,  "Leave  the  door  open, 
it  is  a  hot  night  and  we  want  all  the  air  we  can  get. 
If  anybody  was  robbed  here,  there  is  not  a  man  be- 
low that  would  not  hunt  these  hills  for  days,  if 
necessary,  to  catch  the  rascal  and  hang  him." 

Nobody  locked  doors  in  the  country  at  that  time 
in  California.  All  the  miners  would  leave  their 
shacks  unfastened  when  they  were  absent.  If  a 
poor  fellow  came  along  hungry,  he  was  welcome  to 
take  enough  bacon,  beans,  etc.,  to  satisfy  his  hun- 


II 

ger,  knowing  that  no  other  property  would  be 
touched.  Robbery  was  tabooed  for  it  meant  quick 
death.  Chinamen  and  Mexicans  were  occasionally 
caught  robbing  sluice  boxes  and  other  property,  but 
the  result  did  not  require  the  attention  of  any  priest 
or  preacher,  only  occasionally  the  man  with  a  spade 
to  make  a  hole  in  the  ground. 

California  was  then  peopled  by  strong,  virile  men 
with  manly  characters,  for  only  that  class  would 
have  the  energy  to  travel  across  the  continent  by 
ox-team,  by  the  Isthmus,  or  around  the  Horn.  They 
became  rough  men;  but  their  hearts  were  in  the 
right  place.  If  a  man  wanted  to  commit  suicide  all 
he  had  to  do  was  to  call  another  man  a  liar;  but  a 
man  could  travel  amongst  such  men  for  moons,  giv- 
ing no  offence,  as  safely  as  he  could  in  any  other 
place  on  the  earth. 

If  California  could  have  remained  for  several 
generations  in  its  then  isolated  condition,  it  would 
have  produced  a  race  of  men  that  the  world  would 
have  been  proud  of;  but  its  accessibility  became 
easy  when  the  railroad  was  built  over  the  mountains, 
and  then  the  lame,  halt,  and  other  unsuitables  flooded 
in,  changing  the  true,  sterling,  masculine  methods  of 
its  population.  No  wonder  Californians  were  pre- 
viously proud  of  their  habitat  and  their  fellow  citi- 
zens. They  have  no  reason  to  be  so  proud  of  their 
state  now. 

Shortly  after  arriving  in  California,  our  friend 


12 


attired  himself  in  his  glad  clothes  and  went  to  visit 
a  relative  by  marriage.  Finding  the  house,  he  rang 
the  bell,  which  was  answered  by  a  Chinaman,  who, 
being  asked  if  the  lady  was  in,  shut  and  locked  the 
door.  It  was  raining  and  there  was  no  covering 
over  the  porch.  To  be  treated  so  uncivilly  was  ex- 
asperating. When  the  Chinaman  returned  and 
opened  the  door  our  friend's  foot  was  placed  so  that 
the  heathen  could  not  shut  it  again  while  he  asked 
for  a  card.  The  stranger  pushed  the  servant  one 
side,  entered  the  hall  and  sang  out  the  name  of  the 
lady  who  appeared  almost  immediately  looking  over 
the  banister.  On  being  informed  of  her  visitor's 
name,  she  gave  a  glad  welcome  and  the  visit  proved 
a  happy  one.  The  lady  was  chided  for  the  incivility 
of  her  servant,  but  she  answered  that  green  China- 
men could  only  be  procured,  and  that  they  performed 
all  the  service  in  the  households.  She  could  not 
teach  them  the  difference  between  a  gentleman  and 
the  tramps,  beggars,  etc.,  that  caused  her  so  much 
trouble. 

These  Chinamen  overran  all  the  employments. 
All  the  whites  would  say  when  offered  any  humble 
class  of  labor :  "That  is  Chinamen's  work.  It  is  be- 
neath me  to  accept."  Labor  was  thus  degraded. 
Therefore  all  the  white  boys  and  girls  grew  up  con- 
demning employment  and  formed  the  hoodlum  class 
so  notorious  in  San  Francisco.  This  hoodlum  class 
was  recruited  from  all  grades  of  people.  It  in- 


13 

eluded  the  children  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest. 
They  wore  a  distinctive  class  of  clothes.  While 
some  were  criminals,  the  most  of  them  were  decent 
except  for  their  dislike  to  any  form  of  labor.  The 
introduction  of  an  alien  race  always  produces  this 
result  and  should  receive  the  condemnation  of  all 
true  patriotic  Americans. 


CHAPTER  II. 

It  was  the  intention  of  our  friend  to  spend  a  few 
weeks  in  'Frisco,  then  ship  around  the  Horn  for 
home;  but  circumstances  shaped  themselves  so  that 
he  did  not  return  until  the  lapse  of  twenty  years 
from  the  time  of  joining  the  whale  ship. 

While  roaming  around  the  city,  he  noticed  the 
sign  of  a  printing  office.  Guided  by  curiosity  to  see 
how  the  familiar  work  was  performed  on  the  gold 
coast,  he  mounted  the  stairs  and  looked  around. 
He  came  to  a  young  man  making  ready  a  large 
wood  engraving  on  a  press.  It  was  the  outside 
cover  title  of  a  monthly  printed  in  the  establish- 
ment. The  block  was  old,  warped,  and  cracked 
down  the  centre.  The  operation  was  watched  and 
it  was  soon  noticed  that  no  proper  knowledge  of  the 


work  was  shown.  The  young  man  got  the  job 
ready,  showing  all  the  imperfections  of  the  cut. 
Our  friend  butted  in.  It  was  against  his  grain  to 
see  such  faulty  work.  The  man  was  told  that  his 
process  was  imperfect,  and  almost  by  force  the 
stranger  was  allowed  to  tear  off  the  tympan,  take 
off  the  two  soft  rubber  blankets,  replacing  them 
with  a  hard  blanket,  place  on  a  fresh  tympan,  and 
then  some  cardboard  was  called  for  on  which  im- 
pressions were  taken  from  which  parts  were  cut 
out,  pasted  on  the  back  of  the  cut  as  underlays, 
and  then  a  print  was  made.  The  young  man  was 
told  to  show  the  proprietor  the  print  for  his  O,  K. 
The  proprietor  was  astonished.  He  asked  where 
the  new  cut  came  from,  and  when  told  it  was  the 
old  cut,  his  curiosity  caused  him  to  come  to  the 
press.  Observing  the  stranger  with  sleeves  rolled 
up,  he  found  out  the  culprit  who  was  urged  to 
immediately  join  the  force.  Our  friend  replied 
that  he  was  only  a  visitor,  expecting  to  ship  for  the 
East  in  a  few  days;  but  after  considerable  pres- 
sure, the  coat  Was  hung  up  and  the  Eastern  trip 
was  delayed  for  many  moons,  so  long,  in  fact, 
that  our  friend  became  a  Californian. 

The  first  earthquake  was  noticed  in  this  office. 
Our  friend  was  working  at  the  case  when  he  felt 
a  movement  of  everything.  He  noticed  that  all 
were  running  for  the  door,  one  man  with  one  boot 
on  and  the  other  carried  in  his  hand.  The  idea 


15 

entered  his  head  that  a  very  heavy  team  was  pass- 
ing, causing  the  shaking  of  the  building;  but  as  he 
was  left  alone  he  concluded  to  follow  the  others. 
The  floor  seemed  to  move  up  to  his  feet,  wave  like, 
so  the  latter  part  of  his  exit  was  more  rapid  than 
the  first  part.  Tumbling  down  the  stairs  and  see- 
ing all  the  people  in  the  centre  of  the  street,  it  was 
comprehended  that  the  movement  was  in  the  earth. 
The  experience  was  novel,  and  ever  afterwards  the 
faintest  evidence  of  tremor  would  be  recognized. 
There  was  little  damage  done.  Some  walls,  chim- 
neys and  partially  constructed  buildings  fell  down. 
The  only  one  injured  so  far  as  learned,  was  an 
employee  of  the  office  who  happened  to  pass  a  build- 
ing at  the  time  of  the  shock  from  which  he  re- 
ceived a  brick  on  his  head  that  caused  severe  in- 
jury. The  papers  reported  that  the  earth  had 
opened  a  chasm  back  in  Alameda.  Our  friend  hired 
a  horse  the  next  day  and  rode  over  the  country 
where  the  crack  was  reported.  He  found  it  was 
only  a  false  newspaper  story. 

San  Francisco  was  built  up  from  North  Beach. 
The  city  had  turned  around  completely  when  our 
friend  arrived  and  was  growing  up  Market  street. 
A  Mr.  Meiggs  had  come  to  California  in  early 
days  and  began  to  speculate  heavily.  He  built 
Meiggs'  Wharf,  thinking  that  would  remain  the 
centre  and  it  did  for  a  time;  but  soon  business  left 
and  it  became  dilapidated.  Mr.  Meiggs  became 


i6 

involved  and,  to  escape  his  creditors  left  by  night. 
Arriving  in  Chile  he  began  to  build  for  the  Chilean 
Government  those  astounding  railways  up  the 
mountains,  which  at  that  time  were  considered  the 
most  difficult  railroad  engineering  in  the  world. 
He  made  himself  extremely  wealthy  and  paid  his 
San  Francisco  creditors  principal  and  interest  of 
his  old  debts.  The  carpenter,  or  "Chips"  as  he  was 
called  on  board  the  whaleship,  where  he  was  ship- 
mates with  our  friend,  got  employment  with  Meiggs 
as  principal  bridge  builder  and  he  also  became 
quite  wealthy.  He  was  a  splendid  character,  fully 
deserving  of  all  the  success  he  met  with. 

Our  friend  met  another  shipmate  who,  when  he 
came  aboard  the  old  whaleship  at  New  Bedford, 
evidently  had  consumption.  He  was  not  of  much 
use  for  months.  He  got  seasick  and  remained  in 
that  condition  off  and  on  until  the  vessel  got  to 
the  Islands.  He  then  began  to  improve  and  be- 
came quite  a  man.  After  the  voyage  he  became 
mate  of  a  clipper  that  sailed  to  China.  When  he 
was  men  in  'Frisco  he  showed  up  a  hearty,  strong, 
athletic  fellow,  the  owner  of  a  good  paying  livery 
stable  in  San  Jose.  He  was  a  living  example  of 
the  necessity  of  active  life  and  compulsory  work  in 
the  open  air,  for  those  who  are  tainted  with  tubercu- 
losis. To  send  such  people  up  to  the  mountains 
where  they  remain  wrapped  in  blankets  and  depend 
upon  dieting  for  cure,  is  not  the  proper  method. 


17 

They  need  energizing  through  proper  work  in  the 
open  according  to  their  strength  so  that  their  gen- 
eral condition  will  be  built  up,  allowing  a  successful 
battle  to  be  fought  against  the  bacilli  of  the  white 
plague. 

A  young  country  boy  came  to  the  office  to  learn 
the  printing  trade.  He  was  extremely  diffident. 
He  stuttered  and  was  endowed  with  none  of  the 
points  that  could  be  classed  with  manly  beauty; 
but  he  had  a  determination  that  was  bound  to  suc- 
ceed. Rapidly  picking  up  the  technic  of  the  pro- 
fession, he  soon  developed  into  a  full-fledged  printer. 
Afterwards  he  started  a  job  office  in  company 
with  another.  Just  about  that  time  he  became 
acquainted  with  a  young  lady  who  proved  irresisti- 
ble. The  usual  events  followed  one  another  rapidly 
and  he  asked  the  old  man,  who  was  a  judge,  for  the 
privilege  of  taking  his  daughter  in  marriage.  The 
old  man  was  furious.  For  her  to  marry  a  printer 
would  be  exasperating.  He  would  only  allow  her 
to  marry  a  lawyer  and  so  informed  the  impudent 
young  man.  The  obstacle  was  immense  but  the 
swain  determined  to  become  a  lawyer  and  so  in- 
formed the  lady.  He  commenced  with  spirit  and 
determination  to  wade  through  the  dry  works  in 
which  the  spirit  of  the  law  lies  entombed.  His 
progress  was  rapid  and  sure,  causing  him  to  pass 
his  examinations  with  honor.  Afterwards  a  judg- 
ship  was  the  reward.  The  old  man  could  not  refuse 


i8 

his  consent  when  the  lawyer's  wreath  descended  on 
the  head  of  the  young  man  and  a  happy  marriage 
followed.  The  printer's  case  lost  a  fellow  who  be- 
came a  hunter  for  cases  of  another  character.  This 
was  an  example  of  grit  and  determination  that  is 
always  followed  by  success.  His  friends  collected 
a  fund  with  which  a  lawyer's  library  was  pur- 
chased and  presented  to  the  new  limb  of  the  law. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Although  the  experiences  thus  far  in  'Frisco  had 
been  pleasant,  the  hankering  for  the  sea  possessed 
our  friend.  The  thought  of  sailing  again  was  hardly 
ever  out  of  his  thoughts.  The  confinement  of  the 
office  became  extremely  distasteful  and  one  day  he 
told  the  proprietor  that  he  was  going  to  ship  again. 
The  boss  used  every  argument  possible  to  prevent 
the  rash  act;  but  they  had  no  effect  and  he  found 
a  ship  going  out  to  the  northern  part  of  California 
for  a  load  of  lumber.  When  she  left  port  our  friend 
was  on  board  again  as  a  full-fledged  sailor.  The 
salt  sea  air  felt  so  good  that  it  exhilarated  him.  The 
irksome  restraints  of  civilized  society  avoided,  and 
all  his  physical  wants  provided  for  by  the  ship  with- 
out any  thought  necessary,  combined  to  make  the 
situation  enticing. 


19 

The  bark  made  a  moderately  quick  passage  to 
the  port  of  destination  and  proceeded  to  load  with 
sawn  lumber  that  came  directly  down,  by  a  chute, 
from  the  saws.  The  boards  were  from  redwood 
logs  and  varied  in  density  immensely.  Often  a 
plank  would  come  down  so  quickly  as  to  cause  it 
to  go  over  the  vessel  into  the  water.  Some  of  them 
would  sink  in  the  water  like  lead,  and  others  would 
float  as  though  they  were  of  cork. 

Eventually  the  bark  was  loaded.  The  hold  was 
full  and  the  deck  load  extended  ten  or  twelve  feet 
high,  forcing  the  deck  even  with  the  water.  There 
was  only  a  zephyr  of  wind  blowing  when  the  vessel 
was  detached  from  the  buoy,  not  enough  to  produce 
steerageway,  and  she  drifted  directly  down  on  the 
rocks  to  leeward.  The  captain,  according  to  nautical 
phrase,  had  come  through  a  porthole,  that  is,  he  was 
never  a  sailor;  but  had  become  a  Captain  through 
the  force  of  ownership.  The  old  man  became  half 
crazy,  jumping  up  and  down  on  deck,  hollering  out 
that  he  was  ruined — that  all  his  money  was  in- 
vested in  the  ship  and  she  was  lost.  The  mate, 
muttering  something  about  an  old  fool,  ordered  a 
boat  lowered  with  a  kedge  anchor  which  was  car- 
ried out  to  windward,  then  manning  the  capstan, 
the  vessel  was  drawn  off  the  rocks.  The  kedging, 
however,  was  kept  up  for  hours.  The  Captain 
would  not  allow  it  to  stop  until  the  vessel  was  almost 
out  of  sight  of  land. 


20 

A  high  wind  sprang  up  that  made  a  rough  sea. 
It  was  necessary  to  get  the  anchor,  hanging  from 
the  hawser  hole,  inboard  on  to  the  rail.  When  the 
command  was  given  to  hook  on  the  tackle  to  the 
anchor  for  the  purpose  of  bousing  it  up,  our  friend 
was  standing  where  he  naturally  received  the  order. 
It  was  a  tough  job  as  the  vessel  was  plunging  her 
head  into  the  heavy  seas.  A  line  was  made  fast 
aft;  led  over  all,  that  is  outside  the  rigging,  to  the 
bow,  then  fastened  around  his  body.  He  then 
watched  his  chance  to  jump  down  on  the  anchor 
stock.  At  last,  after  a  heavy  surge  of  the  ship 
into  the  water,  he  concluded  it  was  time;  but  just 
as  he  was  hooking  on  the  block,  the  vessel  gave  a 
terrific  plunge,  carrying  him  deep  down  in  the  green 
water,  a  journey  that  seemed  would  never  end  until 
Davy  Jones'  locker  was  reached.  The  tackle  was 
properly  attached  and  our  friend  was  swept  around 
the  ship  to  the  stern,  where  he  was  hauled  up 
nearly  dead.  The  officer  should  have  eased  off  the 
vessel  before  condemning  any  man  to  perform  such 
dangerous  work.  It  was  a  little  tougher  than  pick- 
ing type  from  a  case;  but  that  class  of  work  was 
elected  and  no  complaint  was  in  order. 

The  ship  continued  her  journey  until  she  reached 
her  destination,  San  Pedro,  one  evening,  where  she 
anchored  off  Dead  Man's  Island.  The  next  day 
was  the  Fourth  of  July,  and,  therefore,  unloading 
could  not  be  commenced.  Early  in  the  morning  our 


21 


friend,  with  a  companion,  got  permission  from  the 
captain  to  take  the  ship's  boat  ashore  where  the 
Fourth  of  July  celebration  could  be  observed.  With 
strict  orders  to  be  back  by  nightfall,  the  boat  was 
lowered  and  the  two  started  off  gaily  for  a  holiday. 
Thoughtlessly  they  did  not  observe  that  a  strong 
wind  had  sprung  up  which  was  getting  fresher  all 
the  time.  The  men  pulled  for  the  lea  of  Dead 
Man's  Island,  but  their  strength  was  not  sufficient 
for  the  heavy  boat  against  such  a  wind,  therefore 
she  drifted  outside  the  view  of  those  on  the  ship, 
because  the  island  interferred,  toward  some  nasty 
breakers.  When  the  ship's  crew  saw  the  boat  drift- 
ing out  of  sight  around  the  island  and  onto  the 
breakers,  they  gave  up  the  boys  as  lost,  for  they 
thought  that  two  men  could  not  manage  the  craft 
safely  through  such  heavy  water.  The  boys  saw 
a  buoy  about  fifteen  feet  ahead  of  them  and  pulled 
with  all  their  might  for  three  hours  to  fasten.  The 
nearest  they  came  to  it  in  all  that  time  was  about 
six  feet,  being  held  back  by  the  fierce  wind.  Becom- 
ing exhausted,  the  boat  drifted  into  the  breakers. 
They  know  not  how  they  got  through.  It  was  a 
whirl  and  a  dash.  The  boys  were  thrown  down 
on  the  bottom,  the  seas  breaking  both  oars.  The 
breakers  had  raised  a  bar,  over  which  smooth 
water  was  found.  Into  this  smooth  water  the  boat 
was  sculled  by  means  of  a  spare  oar  fortunately 
found,  and  up  the  lagoon  to  the  village  where  the 


22 


Fourth  of  July  racket  was  going  on.  Anvils  were 
used  to  make  it;  the  hole  in  one  was  filled  with 
powder,  then  another  was  placed  on  top.  The  fuse 
being  lighted,  the  top  one  would  fly  off,  making  a 
report  cannon  like,  that  was  pleasing  to  the  patri- 
otic Americans  standing  around. 

Long  after  nightfall  the  boys  started  back  to  the 
ship.  The  wind  had  died  down  and  all  that  entered 
their  minds  was  how  to  get  aboard  without  alarming 
the  officers,  as  they  had  long  overstayed  their  lib- 
erty. They  muffled  the  sculling  oar  and  concluded 
to  pull  up  the  boat  by  the  two  hauling  on  one  boat 
fall  together,  thus  raising  it  gradually  from  the 
water.  Quietly  nearing  the  vessel,  they  were  sur- 
prised to  see  all  the  officers  and  crew  anxiously 
looking  over  the  rail.  Having  supposed  the  boys 
were  lost  in  the  breakers,  they  slept  lightly,  and 
heard  the  almost  soundless  approach.  Instead  of 
being  harshly  received,  their  reception  was  hearty 
and  pleasing,  as  though  they  were  returning  from 
the  dead. 

After  discharging  cargo,  the  vessel  returned  to 
San  Francisco. 

The  next  trip  made  was  on  a  sloop  to  Gaviota, 
a  place  to  the  south  of  'Frisco.  It  was  pleasant 
sailing  down  the  coast,  and  as  the  duties  were  light, 
enjoyment  ruled.  Land  was  in  sight  all  the  way, 
consisting  of  sand  dunes  and  rocky  formations 
usually  found  on  the  west  coast.  When  passing 


23 

some  high  bluffs,  hundreds  of  sheep  were  noticed 
on  top.  Suddenly  the  devil  got  into  the  head  of 
the  leading  buck,  causing  him  to  leap  down  the 
steep  precipice,  followed  by  the  entire  drove.  Such 
a  fall  of  mutton  is  rarely  observed.  Of  course  they 
were  dead  when  the  rocks  below  were  reached. 
The  captain,  who  was  a  Swede,  ordered  the  boat 
lowered,  into  which  he  jumped,  and  told  the  crew 
to  pull  for  the  shore,  with  the  idea  of  getting  a 
supply  of  fresh  meat.  The  boat  had  reached 
within  a  few  fathoms  of  land  when  the  Captain 
sung  out : 

"Stop  mit  your  pulling,  and  right  away  go  back 
mit  the  sloop.  I  tink  what  you  poys  say  when  back 
to  'Frisco  we  got.  Every  one  of  you  will  tell  how 
the  captain  went  along  the  shore  picking  up  dead 
sheep  to  feed  the  crew  mit.  Dat  is  so,  by  Gott." 

So  the  crew  had  no  fresh  mutton.  The  captain 
had  correctly  diagnosed  the  natural  outcome;  but 
the  boys  had  quite  a  pull  before  the  old  man's 
brains  evolved  the  brilliant  conclusion. 

In  due  time  the  vessel  arrived  at  Gaviota,  and 
proceeded  to  load  with  asphaltum.  There  was 
quite  a  sea  running,  making  it  necessary  to  fasten 
a  line  from  a  kedge  anchor  outside  of  the  breakers, 
to  the  shore.  By  this  line  the  loaded  boat  was 
pulled  through  the  rough  water.  As  one  load, 
partially  manned  by  our  friend,  was  passing,  a 
a  heavy  roller  caused  the  man  at  the  bow  to  loose 


24 

his  hold  and  the  boat  swung  around,  held  by  the 
stern  in  an  extremely  dangerous  position.  Such  a 
manoeuvre  would,  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hun- 
dred, have  caused  the  swamping  of  the  boat,  and 
the  probable  loss  of  life  of  those  in  it;  but  luckily 
the  danger  was  escaped.  With  no  wharf  to  load 
from  and  only  an  open  roadstead  to  act  in,  the 
loading  of  the  ship  was  by  no  means  a  picnic.  As 
all  things,  pleasant  or  unpleasant,  have  an  end,  so 
the  sloop  eventually  sailed  away.  She  had  her  hold 
full  and  a  heavy  deck  load,  which  was  too  much 
for  the  heavy  weather  met  with.  At  one  time, 
when  sailing  under  a  free  wind  with  boom  well  out, 
a  heavy  sea  broached  into  the  sail,  forcing  the  craft 
on  to  her  beam  ends,  and  almost  causing  her  to  go 
bottom  up.  The  deck  load  that  had  been  so  labor- 
iously placed  aboard,  was  swept  away,  causing  the 
righting  of  the  ship  and  undoubtedly  saving  the 
lives  of  those  aboard. 

The  last  three  days,  before  sailing  into  the  har- 
bor to  San  Francisco,  a  heavy  fog  hung  over  the 
waters.  No  sun  could  be  seen,  and  the  only  manner 
of  knowing  the  position  was  by  dead  reckoning. 
The  captain  was  noted  on  the  coast  for  his  sea 
scent.  It  was  said  that  he  could  smell  his  way 
anywhere.  The  sloop  had  proceeded  to  a  position 
supposedly  near  the  entrance  of  the  Golden  Gate 
and  then  anchored,  still  encompassed  by  the  dense 
fog.  The  captain  and  the  mate  entered  into  an 


argument  as  to  the  location  of  the  craft.  The 
mate  asserted  that  it  was  in  such  a  place;  the  cap- 
tain was  positive  the  mate  was  wrong,  and  with  a 
piece  of  chalk  drew  a  line  on  deck  between  two 
lights  and  then  another  between  two  points  of  land. 
Where  these  lines  bisected  he  declared  the  vessel 
lay.  The  fog  lifted  in  about  an  hour  and  the  posi- 
tion the  captain  had  declared  was  found  correct  to 
a  quarter  of  a  mile,  whereas  the  mate  was  forty 
miles  out  of  the  way. 

Several  events  happened  to  make  our  friend  sus- 
picious that  the  captain  intended  to  play  some  trick 
on  the  crew.  He  bemoaned  the  loss  of  his  deck 
load  and  claimed  there  was  no  profit  in  the  voyage. 
Therefore,  when  he  told  the  men,  after  the  vessel 
was  fastened  to  the  dock,  to  come  down  the  next 
day  for  their  money,  our  friend  took  occasion  to 
privately  inform  the  captain  that  he  did  not  pro- 
pose to  leave  before  obtaining  what  was  due  him; 
that  if  he  did  not  receive  the  amount  by  two  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  he  would  place  a  lien  on  the  sloop. 
To  have  his  vessel  tied  up  by  a  lien  was  not  to  the 
liking  of  his  nibs,  and  he  promptly  came  down 
with  the  funds.  Our  friend  was  the  only  one  that 
was  paid,  as  the  sloop  left  in  the  night  for  parts 
unknown  to  the  unsophisticated  sailors. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  next  vessel  honored  by  the  presence  of  our 
friend  was  a  bark  that  took  on  a  cargo  of  general 
merchandise  in  'Frisco  and  then  sailed  to  the  north- 
ward in  California  for  a  deck  load  of  lumber.  After 
getting  this  aboard  she  sailed  to  the  south.  She 
was  an  old  hooker  with  rotten  rigging,  and  other- 
wise conditioned  far  from  the  ideal  of  a  thorough 
going  sailor.  She  wallowed  through  the  water  like 
a  tub,  and  made  a  wake  like  a  serpent.  She  was 
built  like  the  traditional  ones,  constructed  up  in 
Maine  by  the  mile  and  sawed  off  to  the  lengths 
required  by  customers. 

While  sailing  down  the  coast  one  dark  night,  with 
threatening  weather  approaching,  orders  were  given 
to  take  in  the  gaff  topsail  and  our  friend  was  sent 
aloft  to  furl  it.  When  he  reached  the  sail  he  found 
that  at  some  previous  time  the  sheet  had  parted, 
and  some  dub  had  knotted  it  outside  of  the  block, 
preventing  the  sail  from  being  hauled  close  to  the 
mast.  The  only  thing  to  be  done  was  quickly  ac- 
complished by  our  friend  hauling  out  his  sheath 
knife  and  cutting  off  the  knot.  The  sheet  was  then 
properly  rove  through  the  block  and  bent  on  to 
the  sail.  It  was  intended  to  throw  the  short  piece 
of  line  with  knot  overboard;  but  the  vessel  was 
pitching  badly  at  the  time  and  instead,  it  fell  on 
deck,  just  before  the  second  mate.  That  gentle- 


27 

man  was  in  bad  humor.  He  broke  into  ungentle- 
manly  language.  In  fact,  it  was  positively  pro- 
fane. He  discoursed  on  what  he  would  do  to  the 
rascal  when  he  got  on  deck  for  cutting  the  bark's 
rigging-  The  programme  laid  out  consisted  in 
knocking  off  the  head  and  beating  the  body  into  a 
state  of  jelly.  Our  friend  thought  that  such  a 
reception  on  deck  would  be  decidedly  unpleasant, 
so  concluded 

"To  do  what  others  would  do  to  you;  but  do  it  fust" 
therefore,  going  down  the  ratlings  to  the  rail,  he 
sprang  onto  the  second  mate,  still  howling  like  a 
bull.  The  sudden  impact  brought  the  fellow  to  the 
deck  with  no  gentle  force,  and  gave  every  advantage 
to  the  one  on  top.  All  the  fury  was  knocked  out 
of  the  blackguard.  He  was  converted  to  a  Christ- 
ian-like being,  and  disavowed  all  his  previous  in- 
tentions. When  he  got  into  a  contrite  spirit  he  was 
allowed  to  get  up,  with  a  feeling  of  respect  for  his 
conqueror. 

Sailing  down  near  Santa  Barbara  channel  our 
friend  was  at  the  wheel.  The  thing  he  liked  best 
was  to  steer  a  ship  that  obeyed  the  helm;  but  this 
tub  acted  like  a  led  pig.  She  apparently  did  not 
consider  that  the  motion  of  the  tiller  should  be 
followed  by  a  straight  wake,  therefore,  she  did  not 
make  one;  but  nosed  many  points  to  the  starboard 
and  port,  satisfied  that  the  general  average  would 
bring  her  to  the  destination.  While  doing  his  best 


28 

at  the  wheel,  the  captain  bellowed,  "What  are  you 
doing?  Are  you  trying  grand  circular  sailing? 
Keep  her  straight." 

After  this  outburst  to  relieve  his  pent  up  emo- 
tions, he  whispered  to  the  mate  in  what  he  thought 
was  a  low  tone,  but  all  the  same  it  could  be  heard 
throughout  the  ship,  "That  man  is  the  best  helms- 
man that  this  hooker  has  ever  had." 

It  was  customary  when  a  member  of  the  crew 
washed  his  clothes  to  tow  the  bundle  overboard 
aft,  to  rinse  them.  Our  friend  had  his  weekly 
wash  on  a  line  aft  when  passing  through  Santa 
Barbara  channel.  When  they  were  hauled  in  they 
were  found  permeated  with  gurry  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  they  had  become  worthless  and  had  to 
be  thrown  away.  This  streak  of  coal  oil  had  been 
noticed  on  the  surface  of  the  channel  waters  for 
many  years.  The  evidence  of  great  wealth  was 
disregarded.  If  our  friend  had  had  the  knowledge 
afterwards  obtained,  he  would  have  prospected 
for  the  source  of  supply  and  possibly  might  have 
become  a  second  Rockefeller;  but  if  he  had,  fate 
might  have  decreed  that  he  would  be  in  the  land  of 
the  beyond,  through  the  effects  of  high  living.  The 
sailors'  grub  did  not  produce  obesity  or  gout;  but 
did  maintain  a  healthy  body  with  a  sound  mind. 

The  vessel  shortly  reached  San  Pedro,  the  port 
of  a  previously  related  incident.  Discharging  her 
cargo,  consisting  mainly  of  soap,  macaroni  and 


2Q 

barley,  she  proceeded  to  Anaheim  Landing  where 
many  casks  of  wine,  brandy  and  sacks  of  grain 
were  received.  Anaheim  Landing  had  no  harbor. 
It  was  the  practice  to  load  Anaheim  productions 
into  scows  or  lighters  at  the  landing  dock,  which 
was  four  miles  from  the  sea,  up  a  lagoon.  Then 
the  landing  crew  towed  the  lighter  down  the  lagoon, 
thence  over  the  breakers  to  a  very  heavy  buoy, 
about  a  mile  out  in  the  sea.  There  the  lighters 
were  fastened  to  await  the  vessel,  if  not  in,  or 
proceed  to  unload  if  the  vessel  was  waiting.  One 
of  the  crew  was  inclined  to  be  a  bully  and  to  be 
continually  talking  about  his  strength.  This  fellow 
had  it  in  for  our  friend,  because  of  being  check- 
mated several  times  during  the  voyage  for  his  arro- 
gance. When  it  came  time  to  load  the  grain  into 
the  vessel,  the  lighter's  crew  threw  the  bags  up  out 
of  the  hold  to  the  lighter's  deck ;  from  thence  two 
men  of  the  ship's  crew  were  to  throw  the  bags  up 
to  the  vessel's  deck.  Our  friend  jumped  to  the 
position  of  one  of  the  men  and  the  bully  took  the 
opposite  side,  saying  at  the  same  time  that  it  took 
a  strong  man  for  the  work  at  that  point,  claiming  our 
friend  would  shortly  have  to  be  relieved.  The 
heavy  bags  came  up  fast.  They  weighed  nearly 
two  hundred  pounds  apiece.  The  opposite  fellow 
was  slow  witted  and  did  not  understand  that  he 
was  working  against  brains,  for  our  friend  quickly 
grasped  his  end  of  the  bag,  giving  it  a  twitch  that 


30 

threw  most  of  the  weight  to  the  bully.  He  was  so 
obtuse  as  not  to  notice  the  trick,  and  inside  of  an 
hour  had  to  give  up,  while  our  friend  was  fresh 
and  lively  as  possible.  The  bully  had  little  to  say 
about  his  strength  during  the  balance  of  the  voyage. 

Our  friend  talked  considerably  with  the  lighter's 
crew  while  unloading.  They  made  much  of  the 
dangers  incurred  in  going  through  the  breakers, 
which  fact  enthused,  instead  of  discouraged  the 
recipient  of  the  information,  for  at  that  time  of 
his  life  he  rather  enjoyed  employment  where  a 
little  danger  was  encountered.  He,  therefore,  de- 
termined to  ship  in  the  crew,  as  he  was  informed 
that  they  always  wanted  men  because  they  would 
not  stick  and  often  gave  up  the  job  after  one  trip 
through  the  breakers.  He  had  to  go  back  to  'Frisco 
with  the  ship ;  but  told  the  captain  of  the  crew  that 
he  would  come  back  on  the  next  steamer  after  the 
vessel's  return. 

The  bark  made  a  comfortable  return  trip,  and  as 
the  next  day  a  steamer  started  for  San  Pedro, 
passage  was  taken  on  here  for  that  point.  The 
experience  of  being  a  passenger  instead  of  rough- 
ing it  was  novel ;  but  on  the  whole  our  friend  did 
not  thoroughly  appreciate  it.  The  continual  jar 
caused  by  the  machinery  was  not  agreeable,  it  was 
so  different  from  the  steady,  gliding  motion  of  a 
ship;  therefore,  when  the  steamer  arrived  at  San 
Pedro  our  friend  was  pleased. 


31 

It  was  necessary  to  walk  overland  to  the  Land- 
ing, a  distance  of  five  miles,  at  that  time  uninhabi- 
ted except  by  droves  of  wild  cattle.  These  beasts 
proved  the  undoing  of  the  traveler.  He  had  pro- 
ceeded two  or  three  miles,  when  warming  up  with 
the  exercise,  he  threw  the  flap  of  a  cloak  which  he 
wore  over  his  shoulder,  exposing  the  red  lining, 
that  intensely  interested  a  bunch  of  steers.  They 
pawed  the  ground  and  showed  a  disposition  to  be- 
come acquainted  with  the  stranger.  Not  aware  of 
the  cause  of  the  attraction,  and  the  cattle  becoming 
more  and  more  hostile  in  action,  our  friend  walked 
rapidly  toward  some  boggy  land  to  the  right. 

The  cattle  seemed  to  divine  his  intention  to  reach 
the  morass  where  they  could  not  follow,  and  began 
a  stampede  of  attack.  This  necessitated  quick 
action.  A  run  for  life  followed.  The  unsafe  land 
was  attained  just  in  time  for  some  of  the  cattle  had 
their  heads  lowered  preparatory  to  impaling  the 
fleeing  lad  only  a  few  feet  away.  Wallowing  some- 
times up  to  his  hips  in  the  mucky  mass,  he  reached 
a  tuft  of  comparatively  firm  soil.  The  cattle 
mounted  guard  and  kept  the  stranger  a  prisoner 
until  morning.  Shivering  with  cold  and  an  empty 
stomach  demanding  food,  caused  a  combination  not 
desirable,  and  if  he  had  the  power,  the  slaughter  of 
all  the  steers  on  the  plains  would  have  been  immedi- 
ately ordered  with  intense  delight. 

It  was  a  forlorn  lad  that  eventually  arrived  at  the 


32 

Landing.  His  reception  was  a  hearty  welcome 
though,  and  soon  in  dry  clothes,  with  plenty  of  food 
stowed  away,  he  was  fit  for  anything.  The  duties 
were  quickly  explained  and  he  began  an  experience 
that  was  far  from  uneventful. 

The  Landing  dock  had  been  built  five  miles  in 
from  the  sea  because  that  was  the  first  solid,  firm 
land  met  with  for  the  foundation.  The  buildings 
consisted  of  a  large  warehouse,  a  small  one-story 
office  building,  and  a  large  one-story  shack  with 
bunks  down  one  side  for  the  crew.  A  little  back 
were  two  cottages.  The  surrounding  country  was 
barren  of  shrubbery,  a  vast  alkaline  plain  extending 
many  miles.  The  only  rise  of  ground  occurred 
close  to  the  landing,  making  a  steep  descent  to  the 
warehouse.  Cattle  had  to  hunt  for  their  food 
which  occurred  in  tufts  sometimes  yards  apart. 
The  crew  when  not  engaged  in  towing  down  the 
lighters  to  the  buoy,  or  returning  with  them,  were 
employed  in  the  warehouse,  also,  with  pick  and 
shovel,  in  leveling  off  the  hill  referred  to. 

Anaheim,  for  which  the  Landing  was  built,  con- 
sisted of  a  colony  of  Germans  twenty  miles  back, 
near  the  San  Bernardino  mountains,  and  situated 
on  the  St.  Gabriel  river.  It  seems  that  some  years 
before  a  band  of  Germans  growing  grapes,  and 
winemakers  on  the  Rhine,  clubbed  together  and 
sent  two  of  their  number  to  California  to  search 
for  the  best  location  for  grape  growing.  They 


33 

found  the  ideal  spot  on  Don  Pico's  ranch  and  bought 
of  him  2,000  acres  at  two  dollars  an  acre,  with 
continual  water  rights  from  the  St.  Gabriel  river 
for  irrigation.  These  two  men  remained,  and 
dividing  the  property  in  ten  and  twenty  acre  lots, 
planted  the  vines  and  quick  growing  trees  around 
the  whole  property.  They  tended  to  the  vines, 
established  irrigation  ditches,  and  when  grapes 
began  to  grow,  the  whole  colony  came  on  and  took 
possession.  That  land  that  cost  twenty  dollars  for 
ten  acres,  the  holders,  when  our  friend  arrived  at 
the  Landing,  held  at  $10,000  a  lot,  and  they  would 
not  sell  at  that  price. 

A  few  days  after  our  friend  arrived  a  lighter 
which  had  been  loaded,  was  towed  down  to  the 
buoy  to  meet  a  steamer  from  San  Diego.  It  was 
a  laborious  operation.  The  scow  was  pulled  by  a 
line,  the  men  hauling  first  on  one  side  of  the  lagoon, 
then  in  the  other  as  they  found  a  suitable  ground 
to  walk  over,  the  men  being  shifted  from  side  to 
side  by  means  of  the  boat.  On  arriving  at  the 
breakers  they  were  found  to  be  light,  no  wind  or 
swell  being  in  evidence.  The  load  was  quickly 
transferred  to  the  steamer,  and  the  empty  lightei 
returned  to  the  Landing  by  the  same  method  as  on 
the  outgo.  This  sounds  very  easy;  but  imagine  a 
five-mile  walk,  at  a  snail's  pace,  towing  a  big  hulk 
of  a  barge  through  the  water,  then  with  a  boat  tow- 
ing it,  through  the  broken  sea  to  a  buoy;  then 


34 

waiting  two  hours  for  the  steamer  to  appear;  after 
that  turning  to  and  unloading  into  the  vessel ;  thence 
by  slow  towing  again  to  the  Landing.  The  men 
needed  no  cocktails  to  create  an  appetite  for  sup- 
per, which  often  occurred  late  at  night,  after  which 
they  lost  no  time  spinning  yarns ;  but  quickly  stowed 
themselves  away  in  their  bunks. 

This  life,  one  would  think,  was  monotonous;  but 
our  friend  did  not  find  it  so.  It  was  a  vigorous 
life  and  at  many  points  had  its  humorous  side.  In 
the  course  of  a  comparatively  short  time  our  friend 
was  the  only  man  left  out  of  the  crew  when  he 
arrived,  excepting,  of  course,  the  captain,  a  German, 
who  had  been  on  deck  since  the  Landing  was 
started.  He  was  a  good  natured  fellow,  not  over- 
burdened with  intelligence,  and  the  only  thing  that 
bothered  him  was  to  lose  a  meal.  That  caused  him, 
sometimes,  even  to  growl.  Being  the  most  experi- 
enced man  in  the  crew,  our  friend  was  often  called 
upon  to  act  as  captain  during  the  absence,  for  any 
cause,  of  the  German.  On  one  occasion,  while  in 
command,  the  lighter  was  pulled  through  the  break- 
ers without  any  trouble  as  they  were  not  rough; 
but  while  unloading  on  the  steamer  a  stiff  breeze 
sprang  up  and  a  heavy  swell  rolled  in,  creating  a 
heavy  surf.  There  were  six  lines  of  breakers  to 
pass  through. 

It  was  the  practice  after  passing  one  line  to  watch 
the  motion  of  the  water  and  note  the  best  time  to  go 


35 

slow,  or  the  best  time  to  put  all  the  force  possible 
on  the  oars  to  prevent  the  seas  falling  on  the  boat. 
The  point  was  to  make  the  top  of  the  green  water 
break  just  aft  of  the  boat.  This  day  we  had  in  the 
crew  two  green  men  just  down  from  'Frisco.  They 
were  old  sailors  but  unacquainted  with  surf  work. 
In  the  most  dangerous  position,  when  the  green 
water  was  piling  up  aft  high  above  the  boat,  and 
when  it  was  necessary  to  pull  with  mighty  force  to 
keep  ahead  of  the  wall  of  water  to  prevent  it  fall- 
ing on  the  boat,  the  two  new  men  got  into  a  panic. 
Losing  control  of  themselves,  they  allowed  their  oars 
to  remain  in  the  water,  causing  them  to  be  a  drag 
instead  of  agents  of  propulsion.  There  was  only 
one  thing  to  do  and  it  was  done  promptly.  Our 
friend  quickly  drew  in  his  stearing  oar,  and  jump- 
ing down  on  the  two  dazed  men,  brought  them  to 
the  bottom  of  the  boat  in  no  gentle  manner,  causing 
the  oars  to  be  lifted.  He  then  sprang  back  in  time 
to  prevent  the  boat  from  broaching  to  the  comber. 
If  that  immense  breaker  had  reached  and  broken 
in  the  boat,  it  would  have  been  swamped,  undoubt- 
edly causing  the  loss  of  all  lives  aboard.  The  two 
dazed,  and  by  the  action  mentioned,  bruised  men, 
having  got  through  the  danger,  felt  of  their  bruises 
with  resentment.  Growling,  they  declared  they 
would  fight  the  one  who  had  jumped  on  them.  No 
insubordination  could  be  allowed,  so  when  the  light- 
er was  tied  up,  they  were  invited  to  carry  out  their 


36 

threats.  This  bluff  usually  worked.  The  men 
slouched  away  saying  they  would  not  go  in  the  boat 
again  for  the  world,  and  demanded  their  discharge. 
This  they  had  a  perfect  right  to,  on  demand,  as  when 
they  shipped  to  'Frisco  an  agreement  was  made  that 
the  company  would  pay  their  passage  to  the  Land- 
ing, also  their  return  passage  at  any  time  a  dis- 
charge was  requested.  This  favorable  agreement 
had  to  be  made  to  obtain  men  for  this,  considered  to 
be,  tough  place.  These  men  had  cost  their  passage 
down,  and  after  one  day's  false  work,  their  return 
passage.  This  was  by  no  means  an  exceptional  case, 
but  often  occurred.  The  crew  as  a  body  was  con- 
tinually changing.  The  two  men  mentioned  got 
their  discharge  with  vouchers  for  their  return  pass- 
age and  left  that  night.  The  last  seen  of  them  they 
were  trudging  over  the  plains  toward  San  Pedro. 
As  they  had  nothing  red  about  them  except  their 
faces,  undoubtedly  they  passed  safely  the  watchful 
steers. 


CHAPTER  V. 

One  day  the  Landing  clerk,  a  likable  fellow,  in- 
vited our  friend  to  ride  to  Anaheim  with  him,  as 
he  had  to  go  there  on  business.  In  due  time  it  was 
announced  that  the  team  was  ready  and  our  friend 
got  aboard.  The  clerk  was  already  in  and  holding 
fast,  well  braced,  to  new  lines  that  showed  up 
grandly  in  the  morning  sun.  It  was  then  noticed 
that  the  vehicle  looked  strange.  It  was  not  of 
usual  type ;  was  built  with  two  wheels.  It  was  also 
noticed  that  a  number  of  men  were  around,  holding 
the  two  fine  looking  horses  that  seemed  restive  as 
though  a  long  stay  in  the  stable  had  made  them 
anxious  for  a  free  run.  The  clerk  sang  out  to  the 
men  to  spring  away,  and  then  commenced  a  circus 
that  our  friend  will  never  forget.  The  horses  went 
to  the  right  and  to  the  left;  they  reared  up  and  at 
times  tried  to  turn  in  the  shafts  as  though  they 
wanted  to  get  into  the  buggy.  They  tried  the  kick- 
ing act  for  a  time ;  but  the  shafts  were  too  long  for 
their  heels  to  wrench  the  vehicle.  Our  friend 
wanted  to  get  out — he  had  lost  all  desire  to  go  to 
Anaheim.  He  would  have  preferred  to  be  at  work 
in  the  warehouse;  but  the  absurdity  of  leaving  his 
seat  was  apparent.  All  that  he  could  do  was  to  hold 
tight.  The  clerk  had  all  he  could  do  with  the  lines 
wound  around  his  hands,  the  animals  almost  pulling 
his  arms  off  in  their  desire  to  be  free;  but  he  was 


boss.  He  was  in  command  and  all  the  wild  beasts 
could  do  to  break  loose  was  abortive.  After  the 
circus  had  kept  up  for  a  long  time,  the  clerk  had 
mastered  the  brutes  and  gradually  they  were  going 
in  the  direction  wanted.  Before  we  got  to  Anaheim 
the  animals  had  acknowledged  their  master  and 
were  traveling  along  like  any  pair  of  self-respecting 
carriage  horses. 

When  the  clerk  had  got  the  pair  down  to  work 
and  was  at  liberty  to  talk,  he  told  our  friend  that 
the  animals  were  lassoed  on  the  plains  from  a  bunch 
of  wild  critters  early  that  morning;  that  the  price 
of  wild  horses,  if  not  selected,  was  five  dollars.  The 
buckayros  would  go  into  a  bunch  and  lasso  the  first 
possible.  His  charge  was  five  dollars,  making  the 
cost  of  the  animals  ten  dollars  each.  But  the  clerk 
wanted  a  matched  pair.  In  that  case  the  price  was 
ten  dollars  each  and  the  buckayro's  price  was  also 
ten  dollars  each.  So  the  clerk  had  a  pair  of  horses 
that  could  not  be  beat  anywhere,  for  forty  dollars. 
They  were  beauties  and  on  the  ride  back,  when  their 
action  could  be  calmly  studied,  they  were  declared 
to  be  perfect. 

The  people  of  Anaheim  were  found  to  be  kind 
and  hospitable.  The  entrance  to  the  place  was 
through  a  gate.  The  trees  that  had  been  planted 
surrounding  the  property  had  grown  large  and  pre- 
vented entrance  except  through  gates  provided  at 
every  road  approach.  One  old  gentleman  took  our 


39 

friend  into  his  cellar  and  gave  him  some  wine  from 
the  first  vintage  in  the  colony.  It  was  fine,  like  oil 
in  consistency,  and  equal  to  the  finest  produced  in 
Europe.  The  trouble  with  California  wines  is  that 
they  are  not  treated  right.  They  are  not  held  in 
the  casks  long  enough  to  get  properly  aged,  and  thus 
get  that  boquet  that  is  prized  by  connoisseurs.  Any 
wine  fresh  from  the  press,  made  in  any  part  of  the 
world,  will  have  a  rank  flavor  that  is  not  pleasant; 
but  it  costs  money  to  properly  treat  and  age  wine, 
and  as  long  as  the  fresh  wine  can  find  a  quick  mar- 
ket, in  that  condition,  it  will  be  sold.  Many  a  cask 
of  California  wine  has  been  sold,  represented  to  be 
the  finest  vintage  of  Europe,  after  the  foreign  pur- 
chaser has  aged  and  bottled  it  properly.  A  large 
amount  of  brandy  was  made  in  Anaheim ;  but  it  was 
always  shipped  in  the  rank,  fresh  state. 

One  day  while  digging  in  the  side  of  a  hill  a  baby's 
shoe  was  found  at  the  bottom,  under  forty  feet  of 
sedimentary  and  alluvial  deposits.  Apparently  the 
find  would  prove  that  ages  ago  a  child  was  toddling 
along  when  it  unfortunately  lost  the  shoe  that  be- 
came in  time  covered  with  the  slowly  formed  de- 
posits that  would  take  aeons  to  accomplish.  It  is  a 
question  if  the  age  of  some  of  the  archeologists' 
finds  are  not  based  on  data  as  far  from  the  truth, 
for  when  a  gopher  hole  was  mentioned  the  mystery 
was  solved. 

There  were  a  number  of  greasers,  or  Mexicans, 


40 

employed  at  one  time  at  the  Landing  on  some  im- 
provements, and  while  our  friend  was  in  charge  of 
the  gang  he  had  them  take  hold  of  a  heavy  timber, 
sharpened  to  a  point  at  one  end,  and  tote  it  down 
a  slight  decline.  The  movement  was  directed  by 
holding  on  to  the  sharpened  end,  for  the  fellows 
did  not  understand  English  very  well.  All  at  once 
the  crowd  stumbled  with  a  precision  that  would 
have  done  honor  to  a  military  company  when 
ordered  to  ground  arms.  The  timber  fell  forward 
and  the  point  struck  a  watch  in  our  friend's  waist- 
coat pocket.  It  was  a  large  watch  and  undoubt- 
edly saved  his  life.  If  the  point  had  struck  his  un- 
protected stomach  the  wound  would  have  been  fear- 
ful. The  watch  was  smashed;  but  the  lad  lived  to 
express  his  heartfelt  wishes  as  to  the  future  condi- 
tion of  the  grinning  greasers. 

One  time,  just  as  day  was  turning  into  night,  a 
six-horse  truck  laden  with  brandy,  came  down  the 
declivity  mentioned  before,  leading  to  the  ware- 
house. The  driver  either  did  not  put  on  his  brakes, 
or  for  some  reason  they  did  not  work,  for  the  truck 
got  to  going  beyond  control  and  at  a  sharp  turn  in 
the  road  upset,  throwing  the  casks  of  brandy  down 
in  a  gulch,  and  as  they  reached  the  jutting  rocks 
below,  all  were  completely  smashed,  except  one 
which  stood  on  end,  with  only  the  top  part  torn  off. 
There  was  a  large  amount  of  brandy  ready  for  any 
service  to  which  it  could  be  put.  The  worst  service 


41 

possible  at  that  time  was  to  place  it  in  the  stomachs 
of  the  men. 

One  of  the  men  rushed  to  the  warehouse  for  a  big 
bucket.  Divining  his  object,  our  friend  tried  to  dis- 
suade him  from  saving  any  of  the  rank  stuff.  All 
the  arguments  thought  of  were  used;  but  the  man, 
joined  in  by  all  the  others,  declared  that  the  liquor 
was  too  good  to  be  lost,  therefore,  a  bucketfull  was 
baled  out  of  the  cask.  It  was  taken  to  the  shack 
and  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  floor.  The  boys 
turned  in  early,  for  the  day's  work  had  been  severe. 
The  first  thing  to  do  was  for  each  man  to  take  a  tin 
dipper  full  of  the  decoction  that  is  usually  served 
in  wine  glasses.  The  men  tumbled  in  their  bunks ; 
but  the  vile  compound  soon  put  in  its  work.  Luckily 
no  fighting  disposition  showed  up.  It  was  only  a 
good  natured,  hilarious  lot  of  men  firmly  resolved 
not  to  slumber,  and  to  make  all  the  noise  possible. 
Nearly  all  had  guns  handy.  One  of  the  men  at  last 
declared  that  he  could  hit  the  only  candle  that  stood 
on  a  shelf.  The  result  was  that  in  a  jiffy  all  were 
hitting  of  some  member  of  the  crew,  unintention- 
ers,  not  one  bull's  eye.  The  way  the  bullets  flew 
was  a  revelation  of  poor  marksmanship.  Some  went 
through  the  roof;  some  through  the  sides  of  the 
building,  and  some  through  the  floor;  but  still  the 
candle  burned  merrily  on.  Our  friend,  fearing  the 
hitting  of  some  member  of  the  crew,  unintention- 
ally, of  course,  and  thinking  that  if  they  got  more  of 


42 

the   stuff   aboard   they   would   quiet   down   into   a 
drunken  stupor,  sang  out,: 

"You  men  do  not  know  how  to  drink;  come  all 
hands  and  take  another  nip/'  at  the  same  time  get- 
ting out  of  his  bunk  and  making  for  the  bucket 
from  which  he  pretended  to  take  a  drink.  Several 
men  made  an  endeavor  to  accept  the  invitation,  but 
they  were  too  drunk  to  get  out  of  their  bunks.  Our 
friend  seeing  the  condition,  with  assumed  drunken- 
ness, stumbled  against  the  bucket,  causing  it  to  up- 
set, and  then  knocked  the  light  out.  Meanwhile  all 
the  ammunition  of  the  men  had  been  used  and 
gradually  the  universal  yelling  subsided,  succeeded 
by  the  drunken  snoring  of  some,  while  an  occasional 
outcry  from  others  continued  until  all  had  arrived 
in  a  state  of  drunken  stupor.  This  experience  was 
far  from  being  jolly.  Just  imagine  a  sober  man  in 
with  a  crew  of  armed,  drunken  men,  whom  he  was 
supposed  to  control,  not  knowing  when  some  one  or 
more  would  get  into  a  fighting  humor,  producing 
destruction  and  possible  loss  of  life.  The  only 
wonder  is  that  his  hair  was  its  natural  color  in  the 
morning.  The  men  turned  to  the  next  day  suffer- 
ing from  the  night's  debauch.  There  was  a  con- 
straint in  their  manner  and  a  quietness  produced 
by  the  labor  of  carrying  around  their  swelled  heads, 
that  would  argue  the  auspicious  moment  for  sign- 
ing the  pledge  to  refrain  forever  from  indulging 
in  the  contents  of  the  flowing  bowl. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

One  day  our  friend  concluded  to  go  to  San  Pedro 
for  a  visit.  He  started  out  fresh,  and  had  gone 
some  distance  when  he  concluded  a  horseback  ride 
would  be  a  novelty  to  enjoy  without  the  common- 
place tramping  that  was  tiring;  so  he  made  a  wide 
detour  on  the  right  to  a  lone  ranch  house.  He  in- 
quired if  he  could  get  a  horse  for  the  journey.  "Cert," 
said  a  man  he  met.  "Sit  on  the  piazza,  while  I 
fetch  one."  After  an  ungodly  long  wait,  the  man 
came  back  and  reported  the  animal  ready  on  the 
other  side  of  the  house.  Our  friend  followed  around 
and  found  the  horse  with  two  men  holding  his  head, 
with  another  one  cinching  the  saddle  up  with  all  his 
force,  having  one  foot  on  the  ground  and  the  other 
on  the  horse's  belly.  The  animal  seemed  to  object 
to  this  harsh  treatment  and  the  two  men  holding 
his  head  had  all  they  could  do  to  hold  him.  At  last 
the  horse  made  a  supreme  effort  and  tore  away 
from  his  torturers,  speeding  like  the  wind  as  he 
disappeared  in  the  distance.  That  horse  was  never 
seen  again. 

One  of  the  trapederos,  or  stirrups,  was  found 
six  months  afterwards  when  the  dry  season  came 
on,  causing  the  grass  to  wither,  and  exposing  any- 
thing resting  on  the  plains.  The  balance  of  the 
saddle  never  came  to  light.  The  fact  was  that  the 
man  had  proceeded  to  a  bunch  of  wild  animals  and 


44 

lassoed  one  for  our  friend  to  ride.  He  could  not 
help  thinking  what  the  result  would  have  been  if  he 
had  got  on  the  beast's  back.  His  imagination  pic- 
tured all  kinds  of  woes,  from  fractured  limbs  to  a 
broken  head.  The  only  certainty  was  that  the  seat 
would  have  been  uneasy  and  the  stay  extremely 
short. 

After  a  lively  dissertation  expressive  of  our 
friend's  thoughts  to  the  men  he  tramped  on.  The 
delay  made  it  necessary  to  walk  fast  to  get  back  by 
night.  St.  Gabriel  River  was  reached,  and  he  was 
about  to  ford  it,  the  water  being  up  to  his  knees, 
when  he  noticed  a  man  on  horseback  about  a  mile 
below,  frantically  waving  his  arms,  also  speeding 
towards  him.  When  the  stranger  got  within  talk- 
ing distance  he  halloed  "Do  not  go  into  the  water 
there,  the  quicksands  will  swallow  you  up  in  a 
minute."  Thanking  the  stranger  for  his  warning 
and  getting  from  him  the  location  of  a  safe  cross- 
ing, he  proceeded  on  his  way.  Our  friend  found 
out  afterwards  that  the  place  where  he  intended  to 
cross  contained  the  most  dangerous  quicksands  in 
the  country.  A  man,  on  horseback  had  lost  his  life 
there  only  a  short  time  before.  The  bad  record  of 
the  place  had  been  known  for  many  years.  There 
should  have  been  placed  a  sign  notifying  travelers 
of  its  danger,  but  the  country  was  new,  and  life 
was  cheap.  This  was  another  case  where  our 
friend's  life  was  saved  by  almost  a  miracle. 


45 

The  visit  to  San  Diego  was  a  short  one,  and  he 
soon  started  back,  late  in  the  afternoon.  When  he 
reached  St.  Gabriel  River  on  the  return  it  was  pitch 
dark.  The  sky  was  covered  with  dense  clouds  and 
he  could  hardly  see  one  foot  before  him.  He  re- 
membered that  he  had  only  taken  off  his  shoes  and 
rolled  up  his  trousers  in  the  morning,  therefore,  he 
proceeded  to  do  the  same  now.  Boldly  walking 
into  the  water,  he  soon  found  it  up  to  his  hips,  then 
being  carried  off  his  feet,  he  began  swimming  for 
dear  life.  The  torrential  rush  of  water  carried  him 
down  stream  and  he  just  caught  hold  of  the  last 
bunch  of  bushes  on  the  opposite  shore  quite  a  mile 
below  the  starting  point.  If  he  had  not  grasped 
these  bushes  he  would  have  been  swept  out  into  the 
breakers,  thereby  losing  the  number  of  his  mess.  As 
it  was,  the  only  loss  he  met  with  was  his  shoes  which 
he  held  in  his  hand  when  entering  the  stream.  The 
cause  of  the  torrential  flow  of  waters  that  had 
changed  a  trickling  stream  in  a  few  hours  into  the 
condition  met  with  at  night,  was  a  heavy  rain- 
storm in  the  mountains.  A  sore-footed  fellow 
walked  into  the  Landing  late  at  night;  but  on  the 
whole  not  so  bedraggled  as  when  he  first  tramped 
in,  after  being  interviewed  by  the  steers. 

One  day  a  lighter  load  had  been  towed  down. 
The  breakers  were  quite  rough  and  required  some 
engineering  to  get  the  load  through.  The  steamer 
was  waiting  at  the  buoy  so  that  the  unloading  was 


46 

proceeded  with  immediately.  There  was  quite  a 
cargo  to  transfer  and  it  took  a  long  time,  but  the 
work  was  finished  at  last  and  there  was  an  empty 
lighter  to  take  back  to  the  Landing.  The  wind 
had  been  freshening  up  all  the  time  until  a  fierce 
gale  was  blowing,  creating  lines  of  breakers  that  it 
would  have  been  foolish  to  attempt  to  pass  through. 
The  only  thing  to  do  was  to  remain  fastened  to  the 
buoy  until  the  gale  blew  over.  That  might  be  in  a 
few  hours ;  but  cases  had  happened  when  the  lighter 
had  been  held  for  two  days  fastened  to  the  buoy. 
Not  a  pleasant  prospect,  as  no  food  could  be  pro- 
cured until  the  Landing  was  reached.  The  wind  be- 
came fiercer  and  fiercer.  The  empty  barge  pitched 
hither  and  thither  in  the  turbulent  waters,  straining 
at  the  fastenings  as  if  determined  to  break  loose. 
There  was  used  to  attach  the  lighter  to  the  buoy  a 
three  inch  cable,  also  an  inch  and  a  quarter  line. 

Between  one  and  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  the 
three  inch  cable  parted  with  a  resounding  smack, 
and  the  vessel  then  had  to  depend  on  the  one  and  a 
quarter  inch  line.  It  was  a  forlorn  hope  that  it 
would  hold.  If  a  three  inch  line  parted,  how  could 
it  be  expected  that  the  tiny  one  would  hold!  The 
boys  gave  up  all  hope  and  waited  calmly  until  the 
small  line  should  give  way,  when,  owing  to  the 
direction  the  wind  was  blowing,  the  inevitable  re- 
sult would  follow,  that  the  lighter  would  be  dashed 
upon  the  rocks  to  leeward,  where  it  would  be  de- 


47 

stroyed  immediately  and  all  on  board  would  be  in 
Davy  Jones'  locker  in  a  few  minutes.  There  they 
waited  for  hours,  their  lives  depending  upon  a 
thread,  as  it  were.  With  resignation,  and  no  bewail- 
ing of  their  probable  extinction,  they  stuck  it  out. 
It  was  only  in  the  line  of  their  business.  Dangers 
often  met,  lose  their  terrors.  The  miraculous  hap- 
pened. The  small  line  held  and  towards  morning 
a  lessening  of  the  storm  was  noticed.  It  continued 
to  reduce  in  strength  until  at  10  o'clock  only  a  light 
wind  was  blowing.  The  crew  waited  until  the  ex- 
tremely dangerous  surf  had  lowered,  when  they 
started  for  the  Landing.  They  had  pulled  in  their 
belts  several  times,  but  still  there  was  a  very  empty 
feeling  below  them  when  they  struck  their  next 
meal,  about  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

Thus  events  followed  one  another,  thick  and  thin ; 
but  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  thick  came 
more  often  than  the  thin.  It  was  considered  the 
toughest  place  on  the  west  coast  and  that  was  saying 
a  good  deal.  Out  of  the  many  who  had  engaged  to 
do  the  work,  the  longest  stay  of  any  one,  outside 
of  our  friend,  was  less  than  one  month.  Our  friend 
had  been  many  months  on  the  job,  enjoying  its 
rough  life.  At  last  the  German  captain  wanted  him 
to  take  his  place  for  good,  stating  that  he  was 
getting  old  and  wanted  to  retire  to  a  more  easy  job, 
stating  also  that  our  friend  had  better  control  over 
the  men  and  directed  better  than  he  could.  But 


48 

no,  he  could  not  accept  the  exalted  office  because 
he  intended  to  leave.  He  had  talked  long  and 
often  about  sharking,  a  business  followed  every 
season  by  companies  of  men  at  the  end  of  every 
lagoon  along  the  coast.  The  successes  of  these 
men  and  their  failures  were  dwelt  upon.  Their 
failures,  as  it  often  occurred,  were  attributed  to 
non-attention  to  business  through  intemperance  or 
laziness;  but  our  friend  found  out  that  the  fail- 
ures sometimes  occurred  through  selecting  a  lagoon 
into  which  the  sharks  refused  to  run  that  season. 
It  was  a  legend  among  sharkers  that  if  a  dead 
shark,  after  being  caught,  should  be  allowed  to  get 
into  the  water  again,  the  run  would  immediately 
stop,  the  fish  going  to  another  lagoon.  The  para- 
phernalia of  the  business  was  such  that  it  was  awk- 
ward to  move  into  another  lagoon  miles  off,  in  the 
season  of  the  run,  which  was  short,  lasting  only 
about  six  weeks. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Our  friend  picked  up  all  the  information  possible 
concerning  the  sharks ;  found  out  what  they  wanted 
and  what  they  disliked;  got  the  data  of  what  was 
required  in  the  business,  and  determined  to  try  his 
luck  with  the  next  run,  that  would  occur  in  a  short 
time.  He  found  a  company  of  two  who  had  be- 
come disgusted  with  their  non-success  of  the  previ- 
ous year  and  bought  of  them  a  flat-bottomed  boat, 
a  seine  and  a  large  trypot.  The  boat  and  seine 
immediately  came  into  his  possession;  but  the  try- 
pot  was  resting  on  the  top  of  a  high  sand  dune 
which  seemed  a  secure  place  for  it  to  rest  until 
wanted.  The  future  proved  otherwise.  An  iron 
pot  on  a  sand  dune  at  least  twenty-five  feet  above 
and  a  mile  from  water,  would  certainly  seem  to 
be  as  safe  as  though  it  was  in  a  safe  deposit  vault ; 
but  shortly  after  the  purchase  a  fierce,  westerly 
gale  came  on  and  during  the  high  spring  tides, 
drove  the  waters  of  the  sea  far  inland,  flooding  the 
plains  for  many  miles  around,  causing  the  loss  of 
thousands  of  cattle  by  drowning.  Amongst  the 
other  losses  caused  was  the  washing  away  of  the 
sand  dune  holding  the  trypot.  It  was  sad,  but 
could  not  be  helped.  After  dredging  the  location 
of  the  sand  dune  for  hours,  it  was  given  up  for 
lost,  to  be  found,  perhaps,  ages  afterwards  as  a 
relic  of  a  bygone  people,  too  late,  however,  for  the 


50 

sharking  season.  Therefore,  an  order  went  to  San 
Francisco  for  another  trypot,  a  lot  of  cask  shocks 
to  hold  oil,  coopering  tools,  shark  hooks,  etc.  Our 
friend  had  located  a  place  five  miles  away  on  a 
lagoon  that  had  not  been  fished  for  years,  and 
awaited  the  arrival  of  his  freight  and  the  opening 
of  the  season. 

Everybody  told  him  he  must  have  a  partner,  that 
he  could  not  possibly  go  it  alone;  that  one  man 
could  not  draw  the  seine,  and  that  there  was  other 
work  that  required  two.  But  no.  The  specimens 
of  men  from  which  he  could  have  obtained  a  part- 
ner did  not  appeal  to  our  friend.  He  determined 
to  go  it  alone  and  the  result  proved  the  wisdom  of 
his  decision. 

In  due  time  the  trypot  arrived  and  was  carted 
down  to  the  lagoon.  The  shocks  and  other  material 
did  not  arrive  at  the  same  time  as  was  expected. 

To  prove  to  the  doubters  that  the  seine  could 
be  worked  by  one  man,  our  friend  started  down 
from  the  Landing,  one  Sunday,  to  the  place  where 
he  proposed  to  fish  for  his  bait.  The  sharks  when 
running  in  demanded  strictly  fresh  bait  caught  every 
day.  The  place  selected  for  this  fishing  was  five 
miles  from  the  Landing,  and  four  miles  from  the 
lagoon  located  for  shark  fishing;  therefore,  this 
march  of  eight  miles,  to  and  back,  had  to  be  made 
every  day  for  bait.  When  the  lake,  formed  on 
one  side  of  the  lagoon  was  reached,  our  friend 


51 

fastened  one  end  of  the  net  to  a  large  bush  and 
with  rapid  strokes  of  the  oars  sent  the  boat  in  a 
circle  out  and  back  to  the  same  bush.  All  the  while 
the  long  seine  was  paying  out  aft  from  the  boat. 
Then  commenced  the  hauling  in,  which  was  done  in 
a  systematic  manner.  Soon  there  was  evidence  that 
something  had  happened.  The  pulling  in  became 
laborious  and  taxed  the  strength  of  the  hauler;  but 
when  the  catch  was  exposed  on  the  shore,  it  proved 
phenomenal.  No  after  hauling  of  the  net  was  so 
successful.  The  fish  were  piled  into  the  boat,  leav- 
ing hardly  room  enough  to  pull  it.  When  making 
the  Landing  our  friend  was  met  by  some  of  the 
boys  who  had  come  to  jeer,  but  when  they  saw  the 
load  of  fish,  they  were  hearty  in  praise.  They 
concluded  that  one  man  with  a  boat,  a  long  net, 
and  a  jolly  determination  to  succeed,  could  accom- 
plish wonders. 

A  comfortable  hut  was  built  out  of  drift  logs  and 
covered  by  canvas.  A  supply  of  flour,  bacon,  beans, 
rice,  sugar  and  coffee  was  laid  in.  Everything  was 
ready  except  the  goods  expected  by  steamer.  Late 
in  the  afternoon,  one  day,  when  our  friend  happened 
to  be  at  the  Landing,  they  came  to  hand.  How  to 
get  the  shocks  to  the  sharking  station  was  a  puzzle. 
There  were  no  teams  at  the  time  to  be  had.  The 
sharks  had  begun  to  run  and  there  was  no  time  to 
lose.  What  was  the  matter  with  wheeling  some 
of  them  down  on  a  wheelbarrow  that  could  be 


52 

borrowed?  The  idea  seemed  to  be  good,  therefore, 
the  barrow  was  piled  with  shooks,  tools,  shark  hooks 
and  lines.  Early  in  the  evening,  after  sunset,  saying 
good-by  to  the  boys,  the  wheelbarrow  was  started 
with  the  roar  of  breakers  on  the  right,  a  breeze 
blowing  in  the  back,  and  stars  showing  in  the  front 
as  guides. 

The  tramp  was  kept  up  at  a  lively  pace  on  the 
hard  ground,  until  becoming  thoroughly  warmed 
up  and  supposing  that  one-half  the  distance  had 
been  done,  a  rest  was  decided  upon ;  but  on  stopping, 
the  coolness  of  night,  which  in  that  climate  always 
shows  up,  completely  chilled  our  friend  so  that  he 
had  to  get  a  gait  on  again.  Meanwhile  the  break- 
ers on  the  right  could  not  be  heard,  the  wind  in 
the  back  was  not  noticed  and  the  stars  had  been 
obliterated  by  a  mist,  so  all  the  guides  had  when 
starting,  were  gone.  Walking  became  tiresome. 
Thoughts  of  leaving  the  load  and  proceeding  free 
occurred,  but  the  necessity  of  having  the  goods 
forbade.  At  last  a  light  was  observed  in  the  dis- 
tance. Thinking  it  was  the  lantern  hung  up  when 
leaving  the  hut  in  the  morning,  the  speed  was 
hastened  with  new  spirits ;  but  alas ;  it  developed 
that  the  light  proceeded  from  the  Landing,  the  start- 
ing point  early  in  the  evening.  The  walk  had  been 
in  a  circle,  as  is  usually  the  case  when  tramping  at 
night,  with  no  guide.  The  right  foot  swings  a 
longer  stride  than  the  left. 


S3 

To  go  into  the  quarters,  waking  up  the  boys  and 
informing  them  of  the  mishap,  was  not  to  be  con- 
sidered. Their  chaffing  could  not  be  stood;  there- 
fore, setting  his  teeth  together  with  a  determination 
to  succeed,  the  start  was  made  again  for  the  hut. 
Trying  to  avoid  any  swinging  around  in  a  circle, 
the  tramp,  tramp  was  continued.  It  was  long  after 
midnight  when  the  new  departure  was  made,  and 
the  load  was  not  light.  It  was  tough;  but  the 
spirits  were  kept  up  by  thinking  of  all  the  jolly 
things  that  had  happened  in  the  past,  and  the  legs 
continued  the  pacing  behind  the  Irishman's  gig 
containing  a  donkey's  burden,  advancing  it  slowly 
until  daylight,  then  horrors!  it  was  apparent  that 
the  arrival  was  eight  miles  up  the  lagoon  from  the 
hut.  The  start  had  been  made  to  reach  the  hut, 
and  it  had  to  be  made.  Late  in  the  afternoon 
the  hut  was  approached  with  lagging  steps. 

With  no  thought  of  preparing  food,  sadly  needed, 
he  dropped  into  the  slumber  which  exhausted  nature 
demanded.  One  day  was  lost  in  the  recovering  of 
our  friend,  so  he  must  have  slept  all  that  night  and 
all  the  next  day.  When  he  awoke  an  appetite 
developed  that  required  an  enormous  amount  of 
food  to  supply.  So,  building  a  good  fire  of  buffalo 
chips,  the  pot  was  put  on  filled  with  water,  and  to 
be  sure  that  he  would  have  enough,  a  very  large 
portion  of  rice  was  poured  in.  That  was  his  first 
experience  in  boiling  rice.  He  built  another  fire  on 


54 

which  to  fry  bacon.  After  he  got  this  going,  he 
looked  to  see  how  his  rice  was  getting  along.  To 
say  that  he  was  surprised,  only  tells  a  portion  of 
the  truth.  The  rice  had  rolled  up  over  the  pot, 
concealing  it  completely,  putting  out  the  fire,  and 
was  rapidly  covering  the  scenery.  After  bailing 
out  ninety-nine  one-hundredths  of  the  rice,  and 
building  a  good  fire,  a  goodly  feed  of  rice  and 
bacon  was  enjoyed. 

The  fishing  for  sharks  then  began  in  earnest. 
They  were  running  in  lively.  The  kind  of  shark 
fished  for  was  what  is  called  "shovel-nosed."  They 
were  all  females  and  averaged  four  or  five  feet 
long.  Each  shark  contained  a  liver  that  made  a 
gallon  of  oil.  Hauling  the  shark  over  the  low 
bank,  when  caught,  hitting  the  fish  over  the  nose 
with  a  club  to  quiet  her,  then  ripping  open  the  belly 
to  get  the  liver,  and  slicing  off  the  dorsal  fin,  was 
quick  work.  The  oil  was  tried  out  in  the  pot  and 
began  to  collect  in  goodly  amount.  The  shooks 
were  set  up  into  casks  (an  art  learned  on  the  whale 
ship  through  helping  the  cooper),  and  the  oil  placed 
in  them. 

Time  passed  merrily  in  the  distant  place  between 
fishing  and  the  eight-mile  tramp  daily  to  and  from 
the  place  where  the  net  was  drawn  for  fish  to  serve 
as  live  bait,  also  trying  out,  coopering  casks,  and 
cooking  the  simple  meals.  The  sharks  only  ran  in 
during  certain  stages  of  the  tide,  so  there  was 


55 

plenty  of  time  to  perform  these  various  duties  un- 
molested by  any  human  being.  Perfect  joy  in  the 
daytime,  and  sound  sleep  in  the  hut  at  night,  was 
the  rule.  Wealth  was  being  produced  rapidly,  and 
as  the  season  only  lasted  a  short  time,  no  loss  of 
time  was  permitted. 

One  beautiful  night,  while  asleep,  the  sound  of 
horses'  hoofs  awakened  the  sleeper.  Over  the  hard 
alkaline  plain  the  sound  reverberated  loudly.  Anxi- 
ously, he  awaited  the  approach  of  the  stranger,  for 
no  good  reason  could  be  evolved  for  any  one  to 
make  that  journey  of  five  miles,  in  the  dead  of 
night,  over  those  plains  from  the  Landing  except 
one  of  great  importance.  The  stranger  appeared 
and  handed  our  friend  a  dead  letter  from  Washing- 
ton, a  letter  written  nine  months  before  to  a  brother 
in  Boston.  This  brother  had  removed  to  another 
city,  causing  the  non-delivery  of  the  letter.  The 
Dead  Letter  Office  had  traced  our  friend,  and  thus 
the  arrival  of  the  same  late  at  night  to  the  Landing. 
No  one  was  awake  except  the  night  watchman,  a 
good-natured  fellow  who  could  not  read  very  well. 
He  saw  the  stamp  and  thought  it  was  some  import- 
ant matter  from  the  seat  of  government  that  should 
be  delivered  immediately,  therefore,  he  had  saddled 
up  a  horse  and  made  the  trip.  Thanks  were  pro- 
fuse and  the  stranger  galloped  away  in  the  darkness, 
thinking  that  a  very  meritorious  service  had  been 
performed.  That  was  the  only  disagreeable  experi- 


56 

ence  in  the  land  of  sharks  for  the  non-delivery  of 
the  letter  caused  doubts  and  fears  that  the  brother 
had  died  during  the  long  years  of  absence. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

One  night  after  our  friend  had  eaten  his  supper, 
cooked  as  usual  over  buffalo  chips,  while  calmly 
smoking  his  pipe,  at  peace  with  all  the  world,  and 
building  castles  in  the  air,  inhabited  with  thoughts 
that  seemed  pleasant  indeed,  he  saw  the  top  of  a 
bush  in  front  of  the  hut  move.  There  was  no  breeze, 
the  air  being  perfectly  calm.  This  was  the  only 
bush  for  many  yards.  There  was  no  animal  on 
the  plains  large  enough  to  cause  the  movement  ex- 
cept some  cows  which  were  too  large  to  be  con- 
cealed by  the  foliage.  A  man  thinks  rapidly  in  the 
wilds.  Immediately  the  conclusion  was  reached  that 
a  man  caused  the  movement.  Quickly  springing  to 
the  side  of  the  hut,  out  of  the  light  reflected  by  the 
embers  of  the  dying  fire,  he  pulled  his  pistol,  ex- 
claiming at  the  same  time,  "Hands  up."  Two 
black  hands  came  slowly  in  sight  above  the  bush 
and  the  owner  exclaimed  "Amigo"  (friend,  in 
Spanish).  "Amigo  be  damned.  Vamose"  (get). 

The  fellow  started  from  the  concealment  of  the 
bush,  again  uttering,  "Amigo;"  but  a  pistol  shot 


57 

on  each  side  of  the  retreating  rascal  caused  him  to 
hasten  his  exit.  He  started  on  a  quick  run  and 
disappeared  in  the  darkness. 

Our  friend  calmly  turned  in  to  slumber,  indiffer- 
ent to  circumstances,  as  though  he  was  in  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Hotel  of  New  York.  He  knew  that  the 
fellow  would  not  return  and  there  was  no  one  else 
to  do  him  harm. 

The  greaser  had  evidently  crawled  on  his  belly  to 
the  concealment  of  the  bush  to  await  the  time  when 
tired  nature  caused  the  sleeping  of  his  prey,  when 
a  slash  of  his  knife  would  prevent  all  opposition  and 
a  looted  hut  would  be  his  reward.  At  that  time 
these  greasers  were  the  principal  criminals  of  Cali- 
fornia. The  shots,  instead  of  being  aimed  so  as  to 
increase  the  speed  of  the  fleeing  devil,  should  have 
been  aimed  to  kill.  Humanitarians  may  talk  all 
they  please  about  the  brotherhood  of  man  and  the 
desirability  of  saving  their  souls;  but  they  cannot 
change  the  belief  of  an  old  Calif ornian,  or  any  one 
else,  who  has  had  experience  with  bad  Indians, 
greasers,  and  the  general  riffraff  of  human  crimi- 
nals, that  the  best  place  for  them  is  six  feet  under 
ground. 

The  sharking  season  came  to  an  end,  like  all  things 
good  or  bad  on  this  earth.  The  experience  was 
very  enjoyable  in  this  lovely  spot.  Fully  occupied 
in  a  productive  capacity,  free  from  all  the  restraints 
of  civilized  life,  living  the  life  of  nature  in  fact  was 


58 

all  to  the  good.  With  the  best  of  health  and  spirits, 
our  friend  began  to  close  up  the  business.  The 
cooperage  of  the  casks  of  oil  and  preparing  them 
for  shipment  occupied  a  short  time.  The  season 
had  been  very  profitable,  and  with  a  light  heart  the 
oil  was  loaded  on  teams  sent  from  the  Landing,  to 
be  delivered  on  board  the  steamer  shortly  due,  for 
shipment  to  San  Francisco.  Then  a  large  hayrack 
wagon  was  procured,  and  the  shark  fins  were  thrown 
in,  making  a  load  high  above  the  vehicle.  These 
fins  could  only  be  sold  to  Chinamen,  who  ship  them 
to  China  for  making  soup.  The  wealthy  Mandarins 
can  only  afford  this  coveted  delicacy.  The  fins 
were  roughly  cut  from  the  backs  of  the  sharks, 
many  inches  of  flesh  and  skin  adhering.  In  mak- 
ing soup  only  the  soft  centre  bones  are  good,  so  in 
weight  the  substance  actually  used  is  infinitesimal 
compared  to  the  mass  bought. 

Early  in  the  morning  our  friend  mounted  the  team 
with  the  driver  and  started  for  the  long  journey 
across  the  plains  to  San  Pedro.  San  Pedro,  at 
that  time,  was  a  village  of  one  long  straggling 
street.  Entering  the  street  at  the  upper  end,  the 
team  proceeded  along  slowly.  Soon  a  Chinaman 
ran  out  and  said: 

"You  selle  shark  fins?" 

"Yes,  John." 

"How  muchee?" 

"What  you  give,  John?" 


59 

"Centee  en  halb,  pund." 

"Not  enough,  John." 

Another  Chinaman   ran  out  and  asked: 

"You  selle  shark  fins?" 

"Yes,  John." 

"How  muche?" 

"What  you  give,  John?" 

"Two  centee  pund." 

"Not  enough,  John." 

The  whole  village  was  in  an  uproar.  The  China- 
men were  gesticulating  and  jabbering  away  in  an 
exciting  manner.  The  shark  fins  proceeded  down 
the  road  followed  and  surrounded  by  Celestials 
crying  out  in  their  guttural  language.  This  im- 
mense quantity  of  the  desired  delicacy  created  a 
frenzy  among  them.  Evidently  there  was  a  dearth 
of  shark  fins  in  the  Chinese  country,  and  they 
thought  our  friend  was  aware  of  the  conditions,  for 
he  would  not  accept  the  last  offer,  the  highest 
price  fins  had  heretofore  sold  for  in  the  local  market. 

The  excitement  spread  to  the  white  inhabitants 
who  poured  out  of  every  store  and  house.  Their 
voices  joined  in  the  chorus  and  all  seemed  to  be 
having  the  time  of  their  lives.  The  caravan  slowly 
proceeded  all  the  while  and  the  same  questions  and 
answers  were  given.  The  offers  increased  one-half 
cent  per  pound  every  time  until  reaching  the  end 
of  the  street,  eight  cents  per  pound  was  offered 
and  accepted  after  it  was  considered  that  the  limit 


6o 

of  price  had  been  reached.  The  rack  was  unloaded 
after  a  goodly  bag  of  gold  was  passed  in  payment. 
The  price  was  fabulous,  and  was  quoted  for  many 
years  afterward  as  the  top  notch  reached  for  the 
Chinese  delicacy.  Until  late  at  night  the  excitement 
kept  up.  There  was  certainly  a  rousing  old  time 
in  that  sleepy  town  for  many  hours.  Afterwards 
our  friend  became  acquainted  with  a  gentleman  in 
San  Francisco  who  told  him  that  at  the  time  of  the 
sale  he  published  a  paper  in  the  village  and  had 
printed  a  column  and  a  half  report  of  the  event, 
which  he  declared  was  the  best  copy  that  he  used 
during  his  whole  experience  in  the  publishing 
business. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  next  day  our  friend  went  aboard  a  steamer 
bound  for  San  Francisco.  As  he  was  passing  aft 
to  the  purser's  room  to  purchase  his  ticket,  a  voice 
called  out,  "Where  are  you  going,  Ned?"  On  look- 
ing back  at  the  speaker,  he  recognized  one  of  his 
old  acquaintances,  who  was  then  mate  of  the  vessel. 
Informing  him  of  his  object,  the  mate  exclaimed: 

"Don't  do  that.  We  are  terribly  short  handed. 
Why  not  turn  to  with  us,  you  can  earn  money 
instead  of  paying  it  out  for  passage?" 

Being  persuaded  this  was  the  best  thing  to  do, 


6i 

the  chest  was  sent  forward,  instead  of  aft,  and  the 
crew  was  increased  by  one  man. 

The  craft  was  found  to  be  not  only  short  handed, 
but  was  manned  by  the  most  inefficient  lot  of  beach- 
combers that  had  ever  been  collected  together.  They 
were  a  ratty  assembly;  not  an  honest  sailor  in  the 
bunch.  Our  friend  acted  more  as  an  officer  than 
foremast  hand  during  the  passage,  trying  to  make 
the  drove  perform  their  duties. 

The  vessel  carried  square  sails  in  addition  to 
steam  power,  and  one  time  during  a  fair  wind  the 
foretopsail  was  loosened  and  sheeted  home.  With 
the  help  of  the  sail  the  speed  was  increased  for 
several  hours,  when  the  wind  changed  and  it  be- 
came necessary  to  take  in  the  canvas.  The  crew 
were  ordered  aloft  to  furl  it.  Our  friend  was  quick 
in  the  rigging  and  got  to  the  bunt,  or  centre  of  the 
yard,  when  a  burly  brute  came  slowly  up  the 
shrouds,  and  using  foul  language,  said  that  was  his 
position.  He  was  told  to  spread  out  on  the  yard 
as  it  required  a  man  in  at  the  bunt.  The  answer  was 
that  he  would  thrash  the  life  out  of  our  friend  when 
he  got  him  on  deck.  The  sail  was  quickly  gathered 
in  and  the  gaskets  properly  fastened,  when,  on 
reaching  the  deck,  the  dock  walloper  was  invited  to 
carry  out  his  threat;  but  he  slouched  off  muttering. 

The  steamer  stopped  at  a  number  of  ports  where 
it  was  necessary  to  discharge  and  take  on  freight 
before  heading  for  'Frisco.  Just  after  passing  the 


62 

Heads,  one  of  the  men  came  up  to  our  friend  and 
said: 

"Are  you  wid  us?" 

"What  do  you  mean,  you  slob?"  was  the  answer. 
•"Well,  wees  all  going  to  strike  when  the  dock  is 
reached  and  if  yous  are  not  wid  us,  yous  are  agin 
us,  and  a  busted  head  will  come  to  ye." 

The  officers  of  the  ship  were  not  aware  of  this 
intended  strike,  and  when  posted,  prepared  them- 
selves with  the  help  of  the  stewards  and  cooks,  to 
pass  the  fastening  lines.  When  the  dock  was 
reached  it  was  found  to  be  crowded  with  a  yelling 
mob  of  what  were  called  men.  The  crew  quickly 
joined  them,  fleeing  like  rats  over  the  rail.  Being 
forewarned,  the  officers  passed  cables  and  lines  and 
soon  had  the  vessel  secure.  They  also  ran  out  the 
landing  stage  for  discharging  the  cargo,  which  made 
a  steep  slide  down  to  the  dock.  The  strike  was 
entirely  unjustifiable,  as  the  sailors'  wages  on  the 
coast  then  were  twice  that  ruling  anywhere  else. 

When  everything  was  snug,  the  mate  came  to 
our  friend  and  told  him  that  a  new  vessel  was  ready 
for  our  old  man  to  command  and  that  he  was  to 
take  the  captaincy  of  this  one  on  the  next  voyage ; 
also  saying  that  he  wanted  our  friend  to  go  with 
him  as  his  first  mate.  He  was  told  that  could  not 
be,  as  he  had  formed  a  firm  resolve  to  leave  the  sea- 
faring life,  with  all  its  fascinations.  All  the  persua- 
sions of  the  mate  were  of  no  avail,  for  he  felt  there 


63 

was  within  the  ability  to  accomplish  more  ashore 
than  possible  sailing  the  seas,  but  the  mate  said : 

"You  cannot  go  ashore  now  in  that  howling  nest 
of  rats.  They  will  surely  kick  the  head  off  of  you." 

He  answered  that  two  could  play  at  that  game. 
All  he  wanted  was  that  the  mate  should  help  him 
with  his  chest  to  the  landing  stage.  Meanwhile  a 
teamster  with  a  pair  of  fine  horses,  who  was  on 
the  outer  edge  of  the  crowd,  was  signaled  to  back 
up  to  the  slide,  with  tailboard  down,  and  our  friend, 
sitting  on  his  chest,  shot  down  in  a  twinkling,  and 
threw  it  into  the  wagon.  Then  a  mistake  was  made. 
Instead  of  following  his  belongings,  he  ran  around 
to  mount  the  seat  with  the  driver.  Such  a  rapid 
descent  amongst  them  surprised  the  slow-witted 
rascals,  and  they  were  inert  for  a  second  or  two; 
but  soon  gathering  their  wits  they  made  for  our 
friend.  He  had  gained  a  hold  on  the  back  rail  of 
the  seat  with  one  hand  while  his  foot  rested  on  the 
step.  The  disengaged  foot  was  grasped  by  one  of 
the  devils  who  tried  to  pull  him  down.  With  a 
firm  hold  on  the  rail,  the  foot  on  the  step  was 
swung  around,  striking  the  fellow  on  the  jaw  with 
such  force  that  he  laid  down  to  think  out  what 
irresistible  power  had  fouled  his  head.  Our  friend 
quickly  mounted  and  sung  out  to  the  teamster  to 
switch  up  his  horses.  They  promptly  obeyed,  and 
all  were  rushed  through  the  yelling  gang  safely. 
The  driver  was  directed  to  a  hotel  where  the  events 


64 

of  the  moment  were  calmly  thought  over  as  being 
a  trivial  affair  unworthy  of  mention  except  in  a 
truthful  history  like  this. 

This  was  the  last  voyage  made  as  a  sailor.  Its 
joys  and  dangers  were  of  the  past,  but  it  was  many 
years  before  the  old  hankering  for  the  sea,  with  all 
its  charms  and  delights,  entirely  left  the  brain  cells 
of  the  man,  who  had  first  experienced  them  as  a 
boy.  He  had  other  duties  to  perform  and  they 
slowly  developed;  but  the  many  voyages  he  after- 
wards made  as  a  passenger,  had  pleasure  to  him 
because  of  the  knowledge  gained  of  the  deep  seas 
and  their  wondrous  beauties.  If  a  landscape  is  once 
viewed,  it  always  remains  the  same,  no  change,  and 
one  soon  tires  of  a  vision  practically  permanent. 
The  sea,  per  contra,  is  ever  changing;  ever  build- 
ing up  a  new  vista  that  never  repeats  itself,  thus 
enthralling  the  attention  of  one  that  loves  the 
mighty  waters. 

The  oil  was  sold  at  a  good  price  and  all  was 
deposited  in  a  bank  whose  character  was  unknown 
to  the  depositor.  It  had  an  imposing  appearance 
with  all  the  earmarks  of  a  solid  financial  institution. 
Inquiries  were  made  the  next  day  as  to  the  reputa- 
tion of  Mooney's  bank.  From  all  the  sources  of 
information  at  hand  the  reports  were  not  good.  It 
was  considered  too  liberal  in  granting  loans.  It 
allowed  twelve  per  cent,  on  deposits,  which  was 
known  to  be  away  beyond  the  earning  capacity  of 


65 

money.  With  this  information  the  money  was  with- 
drawn and  taken  to  another  bank  of  undoubted 
security.  Mooney's  bank  went  up  the  flume  with 
a  crash  in  ten  days,  to  the  sorrow  of  many  who 
wanted  to  get  the  most  interest  possible  on  their 
hoardings. 

An  acquaintance  was  struck  up  with  a  stranger 
at  this  time  who  depicted  in  glowing  language  the 
amount  of  money  that  could  be  made  from  a  small 
sum,  if  that  sum  was  in  possession,  in  a  scheme  that 
the  stranger  knew  of.  Castles  in  the  air  were  built, 
and  brilliant  speech  described  all  their  splendor, 
overflowing  with  Aladdin  richness  that  would  have 
made  the  ancient  lamp-rubber  envious.  A  mine  of 
untold  wealth  only  awaited  one  that  might  be 
possessed  of  the  needed  wand  which  consisted  of  a 
small  streak  of  gold.  The  eloquent  flow  of  speech 
began  to  affect  our  friend.  He  tried  hard  to  learn 
the  nature  and  aim  of  the  scheme,  but  was  told  it 
could  not  be  unfolded  before  certain  preparations 
were  made.  The  stranger  declared  it  was  neces- 
sary to  have  a  small  seagoing  vessel  procured  that 
could  be  managed  by  a  person  skilled  in  the  arts 
of  the  sea,  and  seemed  a  little  surprised  when  our 
friend  informed  him  that  he  was  possessed  of  those 
arts  in  addition  to  the  filthy  lucre  required.  A  visit 
was  made  to  a  boat  building  firm  who  agreed  to 
build  a  suitable  craft  for  a  sum  well  within  the 
wealth  owned ;  then  a  decided  stand  was  taken  that 


66 

no  further  action  would  be  taken  before  the  nature 
of  the  business  was  divulged.  The  stranger  de- 
clared that  a  delay  was  necessary ;  but  a  firm  stand 
for  information  brought  out  the  fact  that  a  piratical, 
smuggling  scheme  was  intended,  down  the  coast  of 
Mexico,  which  would  develop  riches  untold  and 
again  our  friend  was  regaled  with  the  splendid  de- 
scriptions that  had  at  first  attracted  his  attention. 
They  parted,  both  disappointed,  the  one  with  a  bril- 
liant scheme  that  could  not  be  tried,  the  other  with 
a  fellow  being  who  had  not  digested  the  command- 
ments which  were  inscribed  on  the  Tables  of  Stone. 


CHAPTER  X. 

With  money  at  command,  a  natural  ambition  to 
enter  into  some  form  of  business  possessed  our 
friend.  He  shortly  saw  a  newspaper  advertisement 
of  a  partnership  in  the  market  business  for  sale. 
On  interviewing  the  gentleman  who  wanted  a  part- 
ner, he  found  that  the  possession  of  brilliant  argu- 
ments and  a  persuasive  tongue  was  not  limited  to 
one  who  wanted  to  go  bushwhacking  along  the 
Mexican  coast.  The  stranger  enlarged  on  the  large 
profits  to  be  made;  the  impossibility  of  his  attend- 
ing to  the  outside  work  and  detail  of  overseeing  the 


67 

salesmen  and  the  accounts;  that  he  was  forced  to 
take  a  partner  to  help  him;  that  the  business  was 
increasing  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  in  a  short  time, 
by  strict  attention  to  the  inflowing  trade  they  would 
be  rolling  in  wealth;  that  he  was  sure  our  friend 
was  the  exact  person  he  wanted,  and  for  that  reason 
he  would  sell  an  equal  partnership  for  much  less 
than  it  was  worth.  Truth  and  honesty  was  dis- 
played in  all  his  glowing  language  and  our  friend, 
being  green,  fell  under  its  power. 

He  hastened  to  the  bank,  drew  the  necessary 
amount  of  money,  and  thence  they  proceeded  to  a 
lawyer  who  drew  the  documents  that  made  him  a 
business  man  with  all  that  implied,  with  his  name 
in  gold  lettering  as  one  of  a  firm,  and  billheads 
printed  in  script,  giving  the  name  of  a  business 
house  that  would  rank  amongst  the  foremost  mer- 
chants of  town.  All  this  made  him  happy,  content- 
ed and  proud ;  but  what  an  awakening  was  in  store 
for  him!  When  he  began  to  inspect  the  surround- 
ings and  the  people  flowing  past,  but  not  in  under 
the  imposing  sign,  he  began  to  realize  that  some 
men  could  lie  without  much  effort.  His  partner 
was  absent  nearly  all  the  time,  claiming  he  was 
looking  out  for  the  outside  business ;  but  as  no  out- 
side business  was  in  evidence,  the  idea  crept  into  the 
brain  of  our  victimized  friend  that  he  had  been 
swindled  by  the  most  consummate  falsifier  in  San 
Francisco.  On  being  accused  of  his  deception,  the 


68 

claim  was  made  that  in  a  day  or  two  the  tide  would 
turn ;  that  he  was  going  around  amongst  his  friends 
who  wanted  our  goods  and  they  would  soon  be  piling 
in  to  purchase.  The  next  day  a  man  came  around 
the  place,  asking  what  was  thought  to  be  imperti- 
nent questions.  He  asked  what  was  the  value  of 
stock  carried;  the  daily  sales  and  the  net  income. 
He  was  indignantly  told  that  it  was  none  of  his 
business,  whereupon  he  said  that  the  partner  had 
offered  his  interest  for  sale  and  that  the  inquiries 
were  made  to  find  out  whether  it  was  a  good  busi- 
ness proposition. 

Our  friend  felt  abashed  for  not  doing  just  what 
the  stranger  thought  necessary;  but  informed  the 
questioner  that  the  partner's  interest  was  not  for 
sale  and  could  not  be  bought.  The  partner  appeared 
shortly  after  and  was  informed  that  he  could  not 
sell  his  interest  before  our  friend's  share  had  been 
disposed  of;  that  if  he  tried  to  do  otherwise  the 
whole  fizzle  would  be  shown  up.  The  rascal  be- 
came frightened  and  after  much  profanity,  agreed 
to  the  proposition.  Within  two  days  a  fellow  he 
had  hooked,  put  up  the  full  sum  that  it  had  cost  our 
friend  to  become  partner.  With  only  the  loss  of 
time,  and  with  capital  intact,  he  walked  off,  not 
now  a  business  man,  but  with  an  experience  that 
was  worth  many  ducats  in  after  life.  He  had  found 
out  that  the  confiding  nature  of  a  sailor  was  useless 
amongst  the  harpies  that  infest  the  land. 


After  this  attempt  to  break  into  the  business 
world,  the  experience  proving  so  disagreeable,  no 
action  was  taken  in  that  line  again  for  a  long  time. 
A  position  was  taken  with  his  old  friends  the  print- 
ers, and  becoming  foreman  of  the  press  depart- 
ment, the  time  was  fully  occupied.  He  became  a 
joiner  and  entered  so  many  societies  that  there 
were  not  nights  enough  in  the  week  to  attend  them 
all.  The  social  life  thus  met  with  was  thoroughly 
enjoyed.  Home  life  at  that  time  in  the  West  had 
not  crystallized  as  in  older  countries,  so  the  people 
congregated  more  or  less  together  in  some  form  of 
public  entertainment  that  was  amusing  or  instruct- 
ive. Offices  were  thrust  upon  our  friend  in  the 
various  lodges,  and  he  became  a  high  muckey-muck 
in  many  of  them,  with  high-sounding  titles  that 
would  gladden  the  heart  of  an  Indian  potentate. 
On  the  whole  it  was  a  jolly  life,  well  spent,  for 
many  were  the  acts  of  help  and  charity  that  glad- 
dened the  hearts  of  those  who  had  become  stranded 
in  the  land  of  rainbow  promises.  The  land  of  gold 
was  a  misnomer,  for  many  found  that  all  that  glit- 
ters is  not  gold.  Many,  fagged  in  the  pursuit, 
dropped  by  the  wayside,  worn  and  haggard  from 
the  wild  struggle  for  that  which  only  a  very  few 
attained.  They  then  needed  the  helping  hand  that 
the  various  organizations  gladly  gave,  for  brotherly 
love  was  the  touchstone  of  their  existence. 

One  high  office  attained  required  the  memoriza- 


70 

tion  of  a  book  full  of  matter  that  seemed  impossi- 
ble during  the  occupations  of  employment  and  the 
various  duties  of  social  life.  Therefore,  our  friend 
went  by  steamer  to  Monterey  and  spent  a  week 
under  the  grand  old  trees,  storing  his  mind  with 
the  words  of  wisdom.  On  his  return  he  was  letter 
perfect  in  the  work  and  installed  lodges  in  true  and 
ancient  form  as  a  District  Deputy  Grand  Master  of 
the  State  of  California. 

There  was  one  institution,  however,  that  proved 
disappointing.  It  was  formed  on  a  principle  that 
was  contrary  to  correct  human  nature.  Its  pre- 
cepts could  not  for  all  time  be  followed  with  hon- 
esty, therefore,  a  spirit  of  hyprocrisy  was  engen- 
dered that  eventually  proved  so  distasteful  to  our 
friend  as  to  cause  his  withdrawal.  Hypocrisy  was 
always  considered  the  most  venal  of  sins  and  he 
detested  it  with  a  spirit  of  animosity.  He  entered 
into  the  work  full  of  vim,  determined  to  accom- 
plish all  possible.  Ladies  and  gentlemen  were  ad- 
mitted and  for  a  long  time  proved  very  agreeable. 
Rapid  advancement  was  made  and  soon  the  regalia 
of  Grand  Master  of  the  State  of  California  descend- 
ed upon  his  shoulders.  He  kept  to  the  precepts, 
avoiding  the  holding  of,  and  the  tasting  of  the  flow- 
ing bowl,  eschewing  all  that  would  intoxicate.  The 
millennium  was  approaching  when  intemperance 
with  all  its  evils  would  be  banished  from  the  earth 
and  no  sin  would  remain.  The  occupation  of  the  devil 


71 

would  depart,  thus  ridding  the  world  of  his  Satanic 
majesty. 

But  what  an  awakening  there  was  when  on  a 
certain  New  Year's  Day  the  august  official  visited 
his  sisters.  It  was  raining  fiercely,  and  a  hack  was 
necessary.  The  first  sister  called  upon  was  a  high 
official  of  the  organization.  Our  friend  was  re- 
ceived graciously,  but  was  informed  that  the  wild 
weather  required  special  precautions;  that  they 
could  not  afford  to  have  their  high  potentate  become 
unwell  through  its  influence,  therefore  in  addition  to 
the  lemonade  in  the  front  room,  she  had  arranged  in 
a  back  room  certain  stimulants  that  would  protect 
against  all  the  effects  of  dampness.  Retiring  to  the 
back  room  a  decanter  containing  the  vile  broth  of 
the  devil's  brewing,  sometimes  called  whiskey,  ap- 
peared with  the  necessary  glasses.  Being  invited 
to  partake  so  as  to  avoid  the  dire  disaster  that 
would  follow  from  the  weeping  skies,  a  sad  but  firm 
refusal  followed.  She  said  it  was  on  account  of 
the  love  of  him,  the  honored  head  of  the  Order,  that 
this  preventive  was  provided.  He  found  that 
every  sister  called  upon  that  day  offered  the  same 
potion,  with  the  same  reasons  for  partaking.  It 
was  fearful,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  I.  O.  G. 
T's  lost  a  grand  officer  by  resignation.  Our  friend 
always  believed  in  temperance,  but  such  temperance 
as  this  society  recommended  and  indorsed,  was 
wrong.  It  made  bigots  of  some  few,  hypocrites  of 


72 

many,  and  a  small  proportion  remained  who  were 
trying  to  act  as  honest  people.  The  good  things  of 
this  life  are  provided  to  use  in  moderation  and  it  is 
useless  for  reformers  to  fly  in  the  face  of  human  de- 
sires to  accomplish  that  which  amounts  only  to  the 
vice  of  meanness. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Amongst  the  employees  in  the  printing  office 
was  a  young  Irish  pressman,  who  at  times  caused 
considerable  trouble,  owing  to  careless  actions;  but 
as  he  was  the  personification  of  good  nature,  he  was 
always  forgiven.  He  was  a  general  favorite  in  the 
office.  One  day  he  invited  our  friend  to  attend  his 
wedding,  which  was  to  occur  that  night.  The  time 
arrived  and  all  the  guests  presented  themselves.  The 
wedding  proved  true  to  the  old  Irish  ways.  The 
poteen  flowed  generously  and  all  were  soon  in  a 
hilarious  state  of  enjoyment.  The  bride  and  groom 
were  toasted  in  words  and  spirits  concerning  their 
future  happiness.  The  bride  replied  modestly  with 
simple  words  that  sounded  well,  coming  as  they  did 
from  a  beautiful  girl.  The  husband,  however,  was 
bold  from  the  decoction  imbibed.  He  loudly  assert- 
ed that  he  was  to  be  lord  and  master ;  that  the  wife 
was  to  minister  to  his  wants  in  every  way  as  a 
dutiful  helpmeet  should.  This  was  grand  talk;  but 


73 

listen  to  the  denouement.  Something  over  one  year 
afterwards  our  friend  attended  a  public  picnic  and 
saw  the  young  husband  with  his  wife  and  baby. 
She  exclaimed :  "Pat,  go  and  get  the  lunch  basket 
as  the  baby  wants  some  milk,  and  don't  stop  to  gas 
with  anybody,  as  you  usually  do,  but  return 
quickly." 

Thus  spake  the  wife  to  the  lord  and  master  that 
was  to  be.  She  was  commander  of  the  situation 
and  he  was  content. 

Our  friend  attended  many  dancing  parties  and 
became  an  officer  in  a  large  club  that  was  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  swell  affairs.  They  were 
nicknamed  the  silk  stocking  club,  on  account  of 
their  high-toned  affairs.  Their  entertainments 
proved  very  enjoyable,  although  the  art  of  dancing 
waltzes  had  never  been  acquired.  Only  square 
dances  were  indulged  in.  One  night  a  gentleman 
met  our  friend  and  said  he  wanted  to  introduce  him 
to  his  sister.  Of  course,  the  only  reason  was  to  give 
the  sister  a  dance.  On  meeting  the  lady,  she  handed 
out  her  program ;  but  unfortunately  the  card  showed 
that  she  had  given  away  all  her  square  dances.  She 
was  informed  of  his  inability  to  accomplish  the  waltz, 
the  only  one  left,  and  a  graceful  departure  was 
made.  The  incident  was  apparently  closed  to  the 
satisfaction  of  all  concerned.  A  dire  result  followed, 
however.  While  retiring  from  the  presence  of  the 
lady,  an  old  friend  was  met  who  said  she  wanted 


74 

to  dance  a  waltz.  She  was  informed  that  ignor- 
ance prevented.  She  insisted  however,  and  before 
he  knew  it  they  were  swinging  around  the  hall  in 
the  graceful  movement  engendered  by  the  enticing 
music,  to  the  delight  of  those  that  witnessed,  except 
the  lady  and  her  brother  who  sat  watching  the  per- 
formance. The  gentleman  insisted  that  his  sister 
had  been  grossly  insulted  by  the  refusal  to  take  the 
waltz.  He  was  informed  that  the  dance  was  execu- 
ted entirely  by  the  lady  dancer ;  that  our  friend  was 
only  carried  around  by  her;  and  that  she  was  the 
guilty  party;  but  excuses  were  not  accepted.  That 
gentleman  was  a  personal  enemy  for  many  moons. 

One  holiday  a  young  tenderfoot  expressed  a 
desire  to  see  the  tabooed  sights  of  San  Francisco, 
and  wished  our  friend  to  guide  him  amongst  them. 
He  was  informed  that  the  places  were  only  known 
to  the  proposed  guide  by  general  report,  and  the 
news  of  the  day;  but  that  evening  the  two  started 
to  the  underworld  to  view  the  events  which  are 
enacted  in  the  glare  of  gaslights.  They  visited 
several  places  where  vice  abounds  without  meeting 
with  anything  except  the  usual  drinking  and  carous- 
ing, when  they  descended  to  a  noted  dance  hall,  late 
in  the  night.  Taking  seats  at  a  table,  drinks  were 
served  by  a  "lady"  who  asked  for  a  dance,  after 
imbibing  an  extra  drink  that  was  not  called  for.  She 
was  met  with  a  refusal  and  started  off.  Just  then  a 
commotion  was  noticed  in  a  distant  part  of  the  hall. 


75 

Loud  voices  were  heard  and  soon  a  pistol  barked, 
soon  followed  by  other  shots.  This  was  more  than 
bargained  for  and  the  two  strangers  darted  for  the 
stairs  with  their  coat-tails  in  a  horizontal  position 
behind.  Landing  in  the  broad  moonlight,  policemen 
rushing  to  the  underground  hell  was  the  culminating 
vision  the  tenderfoot  and  his  guide  had  of  the  night's 
adventure.  Whenever  he  was  asked  afterwards  if  he 
wanted  to  repeat  the  experience,  he  would  say. 
"I  pass.  I  have  had  enough/'  The  next  morning's 
papers  reported  that  there  were  three  men  killed 
and  two  women  mortally  wounded  that  night  in  the 
delightful  Palace  of  Pleasure,  by  which  name  it  was 
called. 

One  day  while  busily  engaged  in  the  office,  a 
drunken  bum  sidled  up  to  our  friend  and  said,  "Are 
you  going  to  join  us?"  When  asked  what  he  meant, 
he  said  that  all  the  printers  were  going  to  strike, 
and  he,  as  walking  delegate,  was  going  around  to 
get  the  men  together.  Now  this  man  was  a  useless 
fellow  who  could  not  get  employment  in  any  office 
except  when  another  man  could  not  be  found.  His 
debaucheries  were  well  known,  and  he  was  detested 
in  every  office  in  the  city.  The  idea  of  such  a 
man  becoming  the  champion  of  the  trade  was 
peculiarly  disagreeable.  The  printers  of  the  Coast 
were  enjoying  the  best  of  conditions.  Their  wages 
were  high  and  the  treatment  most  just.  The  fellow 
was  told  to  get  out.  Replying  in  foul,  saucy  Ian- 


76 

guage,  he  was  taken  by  the  collar  of  his  coat  and 
the  slack  of  his  pantaloons,  and  was  thrown  quickly 
down  the  steep  stairs.  As  he  bounded  from  step 
to  step  in  his  downward  flight,  a  momentary  regret 
was  felt  that  death  would  ensue ;  but  he  picked  him- 
self up  at  the  bottom,  uttering  terrible  threats.  His 
exit  was  rapid  and  not  graceful.  The  effect  was 
salutary,  however,  for  the  strike  never  materialized. 
The  proprietors  of  the  printing  office  did  a  great 
deal  of  work  for  a  land  company  who  emitted  the 
most  elaborate  descriptions  of  their  holdings.  One 
could  not  help  getting  wealthy  if  one  took  advantage 
of  the  offers.  The  land  was  certain  to  become  valu- 
able, situated  as  it  was  at  the  junction  of  two  im- 
portant railways.  Great  interests  were  forming  to 
plant  a  large  city  on  the  property.  In  fact,  after 
reading  the  glowing  accounts,  one  would  wonder 
at  the  philanthropy  that  prompted  the  owners  to 
dispose  of  this  great  prospective  wealth.  Our 
friend  tumbled  and  agreed  to  relieve  the  liberal 
owners  of  a  section.  After  paying  several  install- 
ments, it  appeared  to  be  a  good  idea  to  view  the 
splendid  purchase.  So  on  horseback  the  journey 
was  made  to  Alameda  County,  and  in  the  wilder- 
ness, after  a  long  search,  the  location  was  found. 
The  front  was  all  right  to  the  extent  of  ten  feet; 
but  unfortunately  the  metes  and  bounds  beyond  ex- 
tended over  a  vast  gulch  hundreds  of  feet  deep,  a 
splendid  location  for  trestle  work  if  one  wanted 


77 

to  get  beyond;  however,  as  landed  property  the 
purchase  was  a  little  disappointing.  No  further 
payments  followed,  and  those  which  had  been  made 
were  charged  to  experience,  that  valued  teacher  who 
inculcates  the  spirit  of  philosophy. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Our  friend  had  been  a  long  time  in  the  office  and 
began  to  be  restless.  The  proprietors  thought  he 
was  preparing  to  take  one  of  his  flights,  so  offered 
him  a  ten-day  holiday.  A  holiday  could  not  be  ap- 
preciated except  on  the  water.  A  schooner  was 
found  that  was  bound  to  the  north  of  California  for 
a  load  of  lumber,  a  journey  that  could  ordinarily 
be  made  within  the  time  limit.  Passage  was  en- 
gaged, and,  happy  as  a  lark,  he  appeared  on  board 
the  vessel.  To  be  off  again  on  the  beloved  water 
was  a  treat  that  was  thoroughly  enjoyed  in  antici- 
pation. The  vessel  left  the  dock,  and  after  the 
officers  had  got  everything  snug,  the  captain  was 
offered  a  cigar.  He  said,  "No,  I  thank  you,  I  always 
feel  a  little  squeamish  on  leaving  port."  To  have 
an  old  sea  dog  give  that  excuse  was  surprising.  The 
mate  was  made  the  same  offer  when  he  declined, 
saying,  "I  would  throw  up  all  that's  in  my  stomach 
if  I  smoked."  This  was  beyond  belief,  so  a  lonely 
cigar  was  enjoyed. 

The  lovely  shores  of  'Frisco  Bay  were  passed. 


78 

Shortly  we  sped  through  the  Golden  Gate,  along 
the  rough  waters  called  the  potato  patch,  thence  up 
to  and  around  Point  Reyes,  into  the  broad  Pacific 
Ocean.  Everything  was  greeted  with  joy,  even  the 
sea  gulls  hovering  about  the  ship  were  thanked  for 
their  presence.  A  boy  out  of  school  could  not  be 
more  hilarious.  In  beautiful  weather  we  sailed 
along  for  many  hours,  in  fact  the  port  of  the  Noyo 
River,  where  we  were  bound,  was  almost  reached, 
when  a  sneezer  came  out  of  the  gathering  clouds, 
causing  the  taking  in  of  every  inch  of  canvas. 
Under  bare  poles  the  boat  was  driven  before  it  to 
the  westward.  Half  the  distance  to  Japan  was  cov- 
ered before  the  fierce  gale  abated.  Then  began  the 
slow  beating  back  to  port.  Many  days  were  lost 
and  when  port  was  reached,  it  was  found  that  the 
storm  had  washed  the  whole  shooting  match  out. 
All  the  docks  and  stagings  were  no  more.  The  load- 
ing of  the  schooner  could  not  occur  for  at  least  a 
month.  Our  friend  had  long  overstayed  his  time 
and  determined  on  a  ride  overland  to  Eureka,  where 
he  was  pretty  sure  to  obtain  passage  for  'Frisco. 
The  captain  of  the  schooner  told  him  to  telegraph 
whether  or  no  a  cargo  could  be  obtained  in  Eureka. 
If  a  cargo  could  be  obtained  in  that  port  he  would 
go  and  take  it  as  he  had  plenty  of  time  to  deliver 
before  wharfs  could  be  built. 

The  journey  was  a  long  one  on  horseback,  from 
daylight  in  the  morning  to  ten  or  twelve  at  night. 


79 

At  four  o'clock  the  next  morning  the  start  was  made 
from  a  livery  stable,  where  a  horse  was  hired.  The 
stable  keeper,  in  answer  as  to  where  the  horse 
should  be  left,  gave  a  stable  address  in  the  town 
bound  for.  He  stated  that  the  roads  were  rough, 
and  if  the  animal  gave  out  to  be  sure  that  the  saddle 
reached  the  haven.  Horses  were  cheap  in  that 
country  at  the  time,  but  the  saddle  was  worth 
money.  It  had  rained  heavily  and  the  soft  dirt 
road  was  mucky,  making  progress  far  from  rapid. 
It  was  far  from  a  cheerful  prospect  this  ride  over 
the  oozy,  treacherous  causeway,  but  necessity  knows 
no  law,  and  the  journey  had  to  be  made. 

Proceeding  slowly  along  our  friend  became  very 
thirsty.  He  rode  up  to  a  man  before  a  shack  and 
asked  him  in  a  kindly  manner  for  a  drink  from  his 
well.  The  answer  was:  "You  get,"  and  in  a 
threatening  manner  threw  his  hand  around  to  his 

pistol  pocket.  "You  slide  off  pretty  d quick  or 

I  will  load  you  with  bullets." 

Such  a  reception  was  not  expected,  but  as  the 
brute  seemed  ready  to  carry  out  his  threat,  the  better 
part  of  valor  prompted  a  retreat.  Miles  were  cov- 
ered and  another  citizen  was  noticed  leaning  up 
against  his  fence.  The  request  for  a  drink  was 
made.  The  answer  came  promptly:  "Now,  young 
fellow,  I  don't  want  to  shoot,  but  if  you  do  not 
vamose  in  an  instant,  my  pistol  will  bark."  Again 
the  hand  went  for  the  gun. 


60 

What  was  the  matter?  This  was  California  hos- 
pitality with  a  vengeance.  The  mind  could  not  com- 
prehend the  reason  for  such  treatment.  The  horse 
was  urged  along,  up  to  his  belly  sometimes  in  the 
thick  mud  and  dirty  water.  Disconsolate  and  weary, 
the  traveler  proceeded  until  again  an  inhabitant  was 
noticed  loitering  in  his  yard.  With  becoming 
modesty  the  call  for  a  drink  of  water  was  answered 
with  a  volume  of  oaths,  followed  by  the  words: 
"If  you  do  not  take  your  rascally  carcass  off  down 
the  road  in  a  jiffy,  it  will  be  filled  with  lead  so  you 
cannot  move."  This  time  the  pistol  was  in  hand 
ready  for  execution. 

The  traveler  could  do  nothing  but  obey  the 
order.  Wild  with  thirst,  and  becoming  very  hungry, 
nothing  having  passed  his  lips  but  a  cup  of  coffee 
since  starting  at  four  o'clock,  and  the  time  of  twelve 
having  arrived,  rebellion  against  the  conditions  got 
in  masterful  control  of  his  system,  and  when  he 
met  another  settler  who  ordered  the  traveler  to 
make  tracks  with  the  usual  threats,  he  could  not 
stand  the  game  any  longer.  Sliding  off  his  horse, 
a  demand  for  the  reason  for  such  treatment  was 
made.  Thundering  out  the  words,  "You  are  after 
the  wrong  fellow — you  are  taking  me  for  somebody 
else ;  I  am  a  printer  on  a  holiday  and  here  are  papers 
proving  the  statement."  With  these  remarks  forci- 
bly uttered,  the  fellow  began  to  weaken.  He  told 
the  stranger  to  come  into  the  shack  to  show  the 


8i 

papers.  This  was  quickly  done  and  with  the  advant- 
age gained,  our  friend  followed  it  up  with  an  addi- 
tional verbal  evidence  that  seemed  to  be  convincing. 
The  horse  was  led  to  fodder,  and  the  settler  then 
prepared  some  bacon  and  eggs.  A  happy  condition 
of  confidence  seemed  secure,  but  while  the  traveler 
was  getting  outside  of  the  food  provided,  the  fellow 
pulled  out  a  description.  He  read :  "A  young  fellow 
of  fair  complexion,  about  five  feet,  eight  and  a  half 
inches  high,  weighs  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds,  has  a  scar  over  his  right  eye."  Looking  at 
the  traveler,  he  sang  out  with  an  oath : 

"You  are  the  man." 

"No,  I  am  not." 

"Yes,  you  are." 

And  then  eloquence  was  expended  with  convinc- 
ing power  until  the  settler  was  thoroughly  satisfied. 
The  reason  was  then  given  for  the  outrageous  treat- 
ment received  by  the  traveler.  Along  the  road  all 
were  squatters  who  had  taken  up  lands  before  they 
were  surveyed.  The  State  had  issued  school  script 
which  was  sold  in  the  open  market.  Those  pur- 
chasing the  school  script  could  plaster  it  upon  any 
public  surveyed  land  not  already  sold.  These  men 
had  got  a  description  of  a  young  man  from  San 
Francisco  who  was  expected  to  issue  dispossession 
papers  against  the  squatters  in  the  interest  of  some 
people  of  'Frisco.  The  settlers  had  met  together  and 
agreed  to  shoot  the  messenger  on  sight.  Certainly 


82 

our  friend  was  described  accurately,  and  why  he 
was  not  shot  is  an  enigma.  These  men  were  rough 
and  careless  of  life,  but  the  idea  of  killing  one  in 
cold  blood  was  revolting.  Perhaps  they  thought 
some  one  else  would  perform  the  deed,  thus  reliev- 
ing their  conscience  of  the  action. 

The  squatter  informed  the  traveler  that  he  had 
convinced  him  of  his  pacific  intentions,  but  others 
further  along  might  shoot,  therefore  he  thought  it 
best  to  accompany  him.  Saddling  his  horse,  they 
proceeded.  Shortly  another  armed  man  was  met. 
He  sang  out : 

"You  have  got  the  rascal?" 

"No,  I  haven't,  he  has  proved  clear." 

Thus  they  proceeded.  Every  short  distance  they 
were  challenged,  but  the  kind  friend  proved  a  friend 
indeed,  and  they  were  allowed  to  pass.  The  dark- 
ness of  night  overshadowed  them,  when  three  horse- 
men were  seen  approaching  from  the  opposite  direc- 
tion. They  had  just  come  out  of  the  town  to  which 
our  friend  was  bound.  They  immediately  turned 
their  horses,  surrounding  the  traveler  and  sang  out : 
"You  have  got  the  limb  of  the  law,  let's  swing  him 
up."  But  the  friend  again  put  in  a  disclaimer. 
Then  the  traveler  did  something  he  had  never  done 
before  in  public,  he  gave  the  sign  of  distress,  as 
taught  in  a  secret  order.  The  riders,  noticing  the 
sign,  quickly  cried  out  as  with  one  voice,  "You  bet 
he  is  all  right,"  and  grasping  his  hand  in  brotherly 


83 

token,  they  all  declared  that  they  would  return  to 
town  and  give  the  new  found  brother  the  time  of 
his  life.  It  was  not  until  the  wee,  small  hours  of 
the  morning  that  our  friend  could  get  clear  from 
the  brothers.  They  were  determined  to  make  him 
forget  the  dire  experiences  of  the  trip. 

Early  in  the  morning  inquiries  were  made  as  to 
the  possibility  of  getting  a  cargo  for  the  schooner, 
but  this  was  found  impossible  for  the  great  storm 
had  weather-bound  many  vessels  and  they  had  cor- 
ralled all  the  freight  of  the  port,  therefore,  a  tele- 
gram was  sent  to  the  captain  stating  that  no  cargo 
could  be  obtained.  The  statement  was  also  made 
that  his  passenger  would  take  the  first  vessel  bound 
for  'Frisco. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  vessels  were  all  lying  out  in  the  bay,  and 
the  only  connection  with  them  was  by  a  tugboat 
resting  alongside  the  dock.  Our  friend  went  aboard 
and  told  the  captain  to  put  him  on  the  first  vessel 
that  left  port.  It  was  the  custom  to  bend  on  a 
hawser  and  pull  the  craft  out  to  the  bar,  where  sail 
would  be  made.  The  gruff  old  captain  answered  the 
request  in  a  voice  that  sounded  more  like  a  growl 
than  usual  speech — "All  right."  After  a  short  delay 
the  tug  proceeded  to  the  largest  craft  in  the  bay. 
It  was  the  Harvest  Queen,  a  vessel  noted  all 


84 

around  the  coast  as  being  perfectly  appointed,  with 
splendid  accommodations  for  passengers.  The  cap- 
tain, after  pulling  the  vessel  to  the  bar,  did  not  run 
alongside  for  the  passenger  to  jump  aboard,  but  sig- 
naled for  the  hawser  to  be  cast  off,  then  steamed 
for  the  next  craft.  Our  friend  was  boiling  with 
rage.  Rushing  up  to  the  old  man  in  a  temper,  he 
hollered  out,  "I  told  you  to  place  me  on  the  first 
vessel  outbound,  and  the  only  one  fitted  up  for  pas- 
sengers has  gone." 

The  reply  was  quick  and  sharp.  "Shut  up!  If 
you  don't  keep  quiet  I  will  throw  you  overboard." 
It  was  no  use  to  argue  the  case  with  such  a  brute. 
;It  was  a  case  of  must.  Shortly  the  line  was  passed 
to  an  old  lumber  droger,  piled  with  a  deck  load  that 
sank  the  deck  awash  in  the  water.  After  pulling 
her  to  the  bar,  the  tug  ran  alongside  and  the  captain 
sang  out,  "Jump,  you  young  devil,  jump." 

The  order  was  obeyed.  Landing  on  the  rail  he 
climbed  up  on  the  lumber  and  was  met  by  the  mate 
who  sang  out,  "What  are  you  doing  here  ?" 

On  being  told  that  passage  to  'Frisco  was  demand- 
ed he  replied:  "You  are  a  fool.  There  are  no  ac- 
commodations. You  will  have  to  sleep  on  top  of 
the  deck  load." 

Our  friend  quietly  pulled  out  a  twenty  dollar  gold 
coin  and  said :  "Is  this  good  for  a  bunk  ?" 

The  reply  was  short,  and  decisive:  "Yes,  by 
thunder,  you  can  have  mine  for  that  sum." 


85 

All  was  serene,  and  after  a  passage,  comparatively 
pleasant,  the  old  hulk  wallowed  up  to  the  dock  in 
good  old  San  Francisco  harbor  after  a  ten  days'  holi- 
day that  had  stretched  out  to  five  weeks. 

Going  to  the  office,  he  was  well  received — with 
joy  in  fact,  for  his  services  were  in  demand.  The 
only  remaining  partner,  for  his  companion  had  left 
him,  was  taken  sick  with  smallpox  the  day  after  our 
friend  departed,  and  had  just  returned  from  the 
hospital  thoroughly  cured  and  enjoying  the  best  of 
health,  as  is  always  the  case  with  patients  recovering 
from  that  awful  disease. 

A  short  time  after  his  return,  our  friend  in  a 
social  assemblage,  met  the  complete  counterpart  of 
himself,  the  same  build,  complexion  and  with  a  scar 
over  the  right  eye.  The  resemblance  was  startling. 
Entering  into  conversation  with  his  double,  it  was 
found  out  that  he  was  a  lawyer  and  had  a  commis- 
sion to  place  school  script  on  the  same  delectable 
spot  that  had  caused  so  much  misery  to  the  party 
of  the  first  part.  He  was  informed  of  the  narrow 
escape  from  being  shot.  Replying,  he  informed 
that  the  party  employing  him  changed  the  plans 
just  before  the  execution  to  another  place,  thus  giv- 
ing our  friend  his  chance  of  being  ventilated. 

About  three  months  after  the  memorable  jour- 
ney, a  man  was  met  on  Second  street  who  appeared 
to  be  drunk.  He  kept  moving  from  side  to  side, 
facing  our  friend,  who  became  annoyed.  He  sang 


86 

out  to  the  fellow  to  get  out  of  the  way  and  sober  up. 
The  reply  came,  "Aren't  you  in  Davy  Jones'  locker? 
Aren't  you  a  ghost?" 

"Why,  no,  you  drunken  fool.     Vamose." 

"Don't  you  know  me?  I  was  the  mate  of  the 
vessel  on  which  you  made  the  trip  to  Noyo  river." 

Looking  at  the  fellow  sharply,  who  was  in  his 
shore  toggery,  he  was  recognzed.  He  said,  "Didn't 
you  telegraph  to  the  captain  that  you  would  take 
the  first  vessel  that  went  out  of  port?  The  first  craft 
out  was  the  Harvest  Queen.  She  has  never  been 
heard  of  since." 

Explanations  were  made  and  the  mystery  was 
solved  for  the  mate;  but  the  'mystery  was  never 
solved  in  regard  to  this  vessel  sailing  over  the  bar 
and  disappearing  into  oblivion  with  all  souls  aboard. 
Not  a  hatch  or  any  floating  article  belonging  to  the 
ship  ever  appeared.  The  weather  was  fine;  no 
storms  could  have  been  met  on  her  passage.  It  was 
an  enigma  never  to  be  solved  until  the  mighty  deep 
gives  up  its  secrets. 

What  prompted  the  tug  captain  to  refuse  to  put 
the  passenger  upon  a  vessel  with  splendid  cabins 
and  thrust  him  on  a  pile  of  lumber,  has  perplexed 
the  mind  of  our  friend  ever  since.  Was  it  caused 
by  his  own  volition,  or  the  small  voice  of  some  om- 
niscient power  acting  on  his  subconsciousness,  tell- 
ing him  not  to  place  the  stranger  where  he  would 
certainly  go  down  to  a  watery  grave;  but  to  give 


87 

him  a  chance  to  reach  safety,  though  it  might  be  in 
an  uncomfortable  manner?  This  is  beyond  the 
philosophy  of  the  human  mind.  The  present  and 
past  is  knowable,  but  the  future  is  hidden  in  a  mist 
that  cannot  be  fathomed  by  man,  although  he 
claims  to  be  immortal. 

Our  friend  took  an  active  interest  in  the  affairs 
of  San  Francisco,  political,  social  and  religious.  He 
joined  a  large  Episcopal  church  having  one  thou- 
sand Sunday  School  scholars,  and  became  its  libra- 
rian. Eventually,  thanks  to  the  ladies  who  have  the 
right  to  vote  in  that  denomination,  he  was  elected 
a  vestryman.  All  seemed  lovely,  and  the  sun  shone 
bright.  One  day  when  engaged  in  the  library,  the 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School  said  to  him: 
"There  is  a  lady  teacher  absent,  this  is  the  first  time, 
and  I  fear  she  has  been  taken  sick.  Could  you  take 
her  class,  who  are  all  present  ?" 

The  answer  was:  "Yes,  it  is  a  little  out  of  my 
line,  but  I  will  do  the  best  possible."  So,  on  intro- 
duction to  the  class,  he  found  a  lot  of  boys  from  five 
years  old  upwards.  The  lesson  was  gone  over  very 
easily  as  it  was  all  printed,  but  the  trouble  com- 
menced when  it  was  ended.  As  soon  as  that  oc- 
curred a  little  kid  piped  out: 

"Teacher,  at  this  time  the  lady  always  asks  us  if 
we  want  to  ask  any  questions." 

"All,  right,"  the  reply  came,  "fire  away." 

"Well,  if  a  boy  was  going  along  the  street  and 


another  boy  struck  him  on  the  face,  what  should 
he  do?" 

The  answer  was,  "If  he  was  a  smaller  boy,  why 
don't  mind  it ;  but  if  of  the  same  size  or  larger,  then 
pitch  in  and  thrash  him,  if  you  can." 

The  superintendent  was  just  back  of  the  acting 
teacher  at  the  time  and  overheard  the  remarks. 
Touching  our  friend  on  the  shoulder,  he  said:  "I 
am  afraid  you  are  not  cut  out  for  a  Sunday  School 
teacher.  The  library  needs  your  attention." 

What  sane  man  or  healthy  boy  could  consider  any 
other  action?  The  hypocrisy  of  certain  forms  of 
religion  tries  to  teach  otherwise,  but  such  teachings 
fall  on  unfruitful  soil.  If  fruitful  the  result  would 
be  the  production  of  a  cowardly  race  that  would  be 
despised  of  all. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  old  desire  to  enter  business  came  over  our 
friend.  He  noticed  a  patented  article  that  had  con- 
siderable sale  in  the  Eastern  markets,  but  which  was 
not  known  in  the  West.  He  naturally  thought  the 
Western  market  should  be  opened  up.  Therefore, 
he  wrote  to  the  manufacturer  that  the  sale  could 
be  promoted  and  the  article  introduced  to  the  mutual 
profit  of  both.  After  a  time  the  agency  of  the  goods 
was  offered  and  accepted,  and  a  lot  of  the  goods 
sent  around  the  Horn.  On  arrival,  our  friend  took 


89 

time  from  his  duties  in  the  office  to  interview  the 
trade.  He  soon  found  out  the  goods  were  known, 
although  not  sold.  He  was  met  with  refusals,  with 
the  statement  that  no  more  was  wanted  as  they  were 
worthless.  They  all  had  small  lots  and  had  con- 
demned them  because  they  would  not  work.  Sur- 
prised and  mystified,  he  soon  found  out  that  all  were 
purchased  of  one  jobber.  On  interviewing  this 
dealer,  information  was  obtained  that  a  long  time 
previously  a  lot  of  the  goods  were  received  by  water 
freight  and  distributed  in  small  lots  all  over  Cali- 
fornia— that  the  customers  were  dissatisfied  and  de- 
manded of  the  jobber  the  privilege  of  returning 
them.  This  was  objected  to,  but  many  refused  to 
pay  the  bills.  In  fact,  the  experience  was  such  that 
the  jobber  did  not  want  to  see  one  of  the  articles 
again. 

All  this  information  would  have  dampened  the 
ardor  of  almost  any  one,  but  our  friend  was 
not  built  that  way.  His  optimistic  and  pug- 
nacious mind  only  saw  a  fight  ahead  to  over- 
come the  bad  repute  in  which  the  article  had  fallen. 
He  got  the  dealer  to  go  over  his  books  and  make  out 
a  list  of  every  customer  to  whom  the  goods  had  been 
sold.  With  this  list  in  hand  he  made  trips  all  over 
California  and  interviewed  the  purchasers.  He 
found  that  the  same  fault  showed  up  in  every  in- 
stance. The  lot  of  goods  had  been  stowed  in  the 
lower  hold  against  the  skin  of  the  ship.  All  had 


90 

come  in  contact  with  bilge  water  and  were  rusted  so 
the  working  parts  would  not  act ;  a  sorry  lot  of  goods 
indeed.  The  worthless  stuff  was  all  gathered  in  and 
replaced  with  perfect  goods  without  any  cost  to 
the  merchant.  Satisfaction  was  engendered  and 
gradually  orders  came  in  for  more  goods.  Things 
began  to  look  lovely. 

Soon  it  became  evident  that  our  friend  could  not 
retain  his  connection  with  the  office.  He  was  losing 
too  much  time.  A  young  man  whom  he  was  ac- 
quainted with  urged  that  a  partnership  should  be 
formed  with  him  to  prosecute  the  business.  Persua- 
sion carried  the  day  and  a  new  firm  was  introduced 
to  the  market.  The  partner  placed  in  the  under- 
taking very  little  money.  The  experience  of  the 
past  was  overlooked.  The  sharking  episode  had 
been  conducted  profitably  without  a  partner,  and 
the  market  business,  with  a  partner,  had  been  dis- 
astrous; but  the  new  line  seemed  at  the  time  to 
require  doubling  up.  The  result  proved  unsatis- 
factory in  the  end.  The  young  man  was  industri- 
ous, but  had  no  business  ability  at  all.  Such  a  man 
as  a  workman,  could  have  been  obtained  for  much 
less  than  an  equal  partner  was  entitled  to  draw  from 
the  firm.  When  the  lawyer  was  drawing  up  the 
papers,  our  friend  insisted  that  the  words,  "No 
member  of  the  firm  acting  for  himself  or  for  the 
firm,  shall  go  on  a  bond  or  indorse  a  note  for  the 
benefit  of  others."  This  provision  in  the  partner- 


91 

ship  compact  saved  the  firm  from  destruction  after- 
wards when  it  got  in  good  condition.  A  mutual 
friend  was  elected  to  a  political  office  that  required 
a  large  bond.  He  applied  for  the  indorsement  of 
the  firm.  It  seemed  reasonable  to  give  the  same,  for 
his  standing  was  high;  but  no,  the  agreement  pre- 
vented. Before  the  expiration  of  his  term,  this 
good  man  went  wrong;  defaulted,  and  if  compelled 
to  pay  the  bond,  the  new  firm  would  have  been 
pushed  to  the  wall. 

It  was  slow  work,  but  the  business  began  to  show 
the  energy  expended.  It  was  increasing  in  volume. 
About  this  time  our  friend  went  into  a  large  whole- 
sale house  and  was  offered  the  very  goods  for  which 
he  was  supposed  to  have  the  exclusive  agency.  This 
was  a  terrible  blow.  It  can  be  supposed  that  it  had 
cost  no  small  sum  of  money  to  travel  over  the  State 
replacing  the  faulty  goods,  advertising  and  making 
a  market.  When  success  was  beginning  to  be  felt, 
although  not  to  a  paying  extent,  to  have  the  goods 
coming  in  through  others,  was  a  disappointment 
hard  to  bear.  It  was  seen  that  other  articles  had  to 
be  taken  in  from  which  profit  could  be  obtained. 
Therefore,  the  stock  was  increased  so  that  in  time 
a  general  house  furnishing  business  was  done,  and 
after  three  removals,  the  establishment  was  doing 
a  flourishing  trade  in  a  large  store  on  the  principal 
business  street  of  the  city. 

Our  friend's  connection  with  the  church  as  vestry- 


Q2 

man  and  member  had  to  be  severed  as  the  brothers, 
sisters  and  deacons,  flocked  in,  running  up  bills 
that  would  escape  their  memories  afterwards.  On 
being  prayerfully  urged  for  payment,  their  excuses 
were  various,  but  all  meant  manana,  a  Spanish 
word  meaning  to-morrow,  or  the  day  after  judg- 
ment. So,  sorrowfully,  orders  were  given  not  to 
sell  except  for  cash,  any  customer  who  pleaded 
church  connections  as  a  reason  for  credit.  It  was 
thought  better  to  get  cash  in  this  world  than  to  build 
up  credit  in  the  world  to  come.  The  wisdom  of 
this  action  showed  up  in  a  full  cash  drawer  instead 
of  the  depleted  receptacle,  to  meet  the  bills  that 
had  to  be  met  as  they  came  in,  like  the  falling  leaves 
of  autumn,  every  steamer  day. 

This  making  steamer  day  collections  in  this 
country,  was  a  relic  of  the  time  when  two  steamers 
a  month  sailed  into  port  from  Panama.  All  pay- 
ments were  made  on  those  days.  If  a  customer 
could  not  settle  his  account  on  steamer  day,  then  it 
naturally  laid  over  for  the  next,  as  no  attempt  was 
made  to  collect  between.  This  system  was  kept  up 
for  many  years  after  the  communication  was  opened 
by  rail  and  the  old  steamer  days-  became  of  no 
moment. 

When  the  time  and  condition  warranted,  our 
friend  got  spliced — that  is,  married.  In  due  course 
of  events  a  baby  girl  came  to  the  parents.  She 
proved  later  in  life  to  be  a  chip  off  the  old  block, 


93 

proud  to  advance,  and  with  talents  that  commanded 
attention. 

Business  required  a  trip  to  San  Pedro,  therefore, 
a  steamer  was  taken  to  that  port.  After  a  few  days 
the  return  passage  was  made.  That  port  had  in- 
creased in  importance  very  much  during  the  few 
years  since  the  former  visit.  Going  aboard  the 
steamer,  she  was  soon  headed  for  the  north.  That 
part  of  the  coast  was  very  familiar  to  our  friend 
as  he  knew  every  headline,  bay,  and  landmark. 
They  were  as  plain  to  him  as  an  open  book.  One 
evening  he  overheard  the  captain  tell  the  mate  on 
going  below  for  the  night,  "to  keep  the  same  course 
until  morning."  The  wheel  was  aft  and  curiosity 
prompted  him  to  take  a  look  at  the  compass  to  see 
the  course  steered.  It  was  immediately  noticed 
that  something  was  wrong — that  the  continuous 
sailing  of  the  ship  on  that  course  was  impossible, 
as  long  before  morning  the  false  bay  of  Monterey 
would  open  out,  and  if  the  vessel  ran  amongst  the 
jagged  rocks  of  that  locality,  the  loss  of  the  steamer 
would  surely  follow,  and  most  likely  all  on  board 
would  be  drowned.  Our  friend  went  up  to  the  mate 
and  informed  him  that  he  had  heard  the  captain's 
order,  and  also  told  him  that  if  the  course  was  run 
until  morning,  the  vessel  would  be  at  least  twenty 
miles  inshore.  The  reply  was  sharp  and  disagreea- 
ble: "I  guess  we  know  how  to  run  the  steamer; 
mind  your  own  business." 


94 

With  such  a  rebuff  the  only  thing  to  do  was  to 
watch  and  wait.  Sleep  was  impossible.  When 
the  midwatch  came  on  deck  and  the  lookout  was 
relieved,  our  friend  went  forward  and  told  the  new 
man  to  keep  his  eye  peeled,  as  breakers  would  soon 
appear  on  a  very  dangerous  coast.  The  lookout 
replied  that  he  had  not  been  cautioned  by  the  offi- 
cer on  deck  of  the  approach  of  land,  as  is  the  cus- 
tom on  ship.  He  was  informed  that  land  was  ahead, 
and  that  it  would  be  quite  a  feather  in  his  cap  if  he 
was  first  to  make  it  out.  The  sailor  was  impressed 
and  promised  to  look  out  sharp.  These  were  anxi- 
ous moments.  The  many  lives  aboard  were  at  stake. 
They  were  sleeping  soundly,  oblivious  of  the  great 
danger  in  the  near  distance.  The  mate  had  re- 
ceived his  orders  from  the  captain  and  they  had  to 
be  obeyed  blindly.  No  criticism  of  that  authority 
could  be  indulged  in.  Since  that  time  the  one-man 
power  has  been  lessened  a  bit  by  the  maritime  au- 
thorities especially  after  the  captain  of  the  Ameri- 
can liner  Paris,  long  afterwards,  left  Cherbourg, 
France,  and  sailed  directly  on  the  English  coast, 
wrecking  his  vessel.  His  excuse  was  that  he  had 
taken  his  departure  from  the  wrong  light.  Now, 
both  the  captain  and  the  mate  must  agree  on  a 
course.  The  discussion  that  would  naturally  arise 
would  tend  to  avoid  the  faults  caused  by  such  an 
aberration  of  the  mind  that  sometimes  occurs  when 
one  authority  is  supreme. 


95 

The  ship  continued  to  forge  along.  Our  friend 
was  in  the  waist  of  the  vessel  looking  with  intense 
interest  ahead  for  the  appearance  of  white  water. 
The  wind  had  increased  to  a  sharp  topsail  breeze, 
producing  a  heavy  sea  that  must  make  the  coast 
terrific.  Both  he  and  the  lookout  were  on  the  job, 
however,  and  just  before  one  o'clock  each  one  sang 
out  at  the  same  instant,  "Breakers  ahead!"  Sharp 
and  authoritative  rang  out  the  order  from  the  mate 
to  the  man  at  the  wheel,  "Hard  up,"  and  the  vessel 
quickly  obeyed  the  helm.  She  swung  around,  her 
stern  pounding  in  the  white  water.  It  was  a  narrow 
escape,  but  the  craft  with  all  on  board  were  saved. 

After  the  excitement  of  escaping  the  rocks,  when 
the  ship  had  made  her  offing  and  had  started  on  her 
safe  and  correct  course,  the  mate  came  to  our  friend 
pleading  that  he  should  not  say  anything  about  the 
error..  He  said  that  the  old  man  was  to  take  a  new 
ship  the  following  voyage,  and  that  the  mate  was 
to  be  captain  of  the  present  one.  A  report  of  the 
case  would  ruin  both  lives.  The  man  was  told  that 
such  a  gross  blunder  should  be  advertised ;  but  after 
much  urging  and  prayers,  the  promise  was  given 
that  nothing  would  be  said  about  the  affair  as  long 
as  our  friend  remained  on  the  coast.  Such  a  deci- 
sion was  not  according  to  justice,  but  the  blind  God- 
dess often  demands  that  which  good  fellowship  has 
reason  to  refuse. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Among  the  acquaintances  of  our  friend  was  a 
family  consisting  of  the  parents  and  a  grown  up 
daughter.  It  was  observed  that  the  daughter  was 
gradually  declining  in  health,  becoming  more  peaked 
looking  every  time  she  was  noticed.  The  mother 
was  so  informed  and  was  told  that  something  was 
wrong.  The  reply  was  that  the  daughter  insisted 
upon  teaching  and  trying  to  convert  to  Christianity 
a  class  of  grown  up  Chinamen,  a  labor  of  love, 
undertaken  in  true  missionary  spirit,  without  re- 
muneration, looking  to  Heaven  for  a  reward.  The 
vile  smell  of  opium-smoking  Celestials  was  under- 
mining her  health ;  but  she  insisted  upon  carrying 
on  the  work.  No  argument  or  entreaty  could  in- 
duce her  to  desist.  Our  friend  met  the  daughter 
and  urged  her  to  let  the  heathen  go  their  own  way, 
that  to  try  to  convert  them  was  a  hopeless  task, 
and  that  on  the  whole,  their  religion  was  the  best 
for  them.  She  was  informed  of  the  fact  that  those 
people  looked  upon  the  white  man's  doctrines  with 
disgust,  and  that  they  were  only  trying  to  learn 
English  so  that  they  could  earn  more  money.  She 
was  asked  if  there  was  a  man  amongst  them  that 
showed  the  least  evidence  of  being  affected  by  her 
teachings. 

"Oh,  yes,"  was  the  reply.  'There  is  Sing  Lee, 
he  is  a  Christian.  I  have  converted  him." 


97 

"What,  the  Sing  Lee  that  keeps  a  wash  house  in 
Minna  street?" 

"Yes,  that  is  the  one.  He  has  given  himself  to 
Christ  and  I  am  greatly  encouraged." 

The  next  day  our  friend  concluded  to  interview 
the  Christianized  Chinaman  at  his  place  of  business. 
Some  people  cannot  tell  one  negro  from  another, 
but  say  all  "niggers  look  alike  to  them;"  but  our 
friend  from  his  long  contact  with  the  Celestials 
could  tell  them  apart  and  readily  recognized  their 
individual  peculiarities.  Arriving  at  the  wash  house, 
he  met  Sing  Lee  and  asked  him  in  pigeon  English: 

"You  likee  go  to  school?" 

"Velle,  velle,  me  learnee  Englie." 

"Do  you  likee  teacher?" 

"Velle  nicee.     She  good  littie ," 

using  a  profane  epithet  unprintable.  The  next 
instant  the  Chinaman  was  lying  on  the  floor.  Some- 
thing must  have  hit  him.  For  such  hypocritical 
beings  a  young  woman  was  wearing  out  her  life 
in  endeavoring  to  make  them  see  things  the  same 
way  as  she  saw  them  after  many  generations  of 
teaching  that  had  ingrained  itself  in  her  very  being. 
She  believed  in  the  doctrines  that  she  tried  to  incul- 
cate in  the  Chinamen ;  but  they  had  been  brought 
up  under  a  different  set  of  beliefs  that  had  been  in- 
grained in  their  systems  through  many  more  hun- 
dred years  than  the  new  dogmas,  brought  to  their 
attention.  Which  are  best  for  them  should  be  left 


98 

to  their  own  consciences.  Missionary  effort  has  ac- 
complished some  good  in  the  world,  but  has  pro- 
duced a  great  deal  more  harm.  The  endeavor  to 
proselyte  has  antagonized  the  different  peoples  and 
has  led  to  many  wars  that  have  deluged  the  lands 
with  blood.  This  opinion  has  been  arrived  at  after 
extensive  reading;  but  more  especially  after  actual 
experiences  in  different  parts  of  the  world  where 
missionary  effort  wias  in  evidence.  Many  who 
think  they  have  been  called  by  a  Superior  Power 
to  proselyte,  have  not  that  peculiar  power  that 
might  be  called  humanity,  the  lacking  of  which 
produces  estrangement  instead  of  human  sympathy. 
They  repel,  instead  of  creating  a  bond  of  union. 
They  keep  their  dogmas  in  mind  and  lose  sight  of 
the  grand  power  of  love  that  is  the  basis  of  all  true 
religion.  And,  also,  the  vast  number  of  dogmas 
that  different  men  endeavor  to  inculcate,  perplex 
the  taught,  and  make  them  wonder  as  to  which  is 
the  true.  As  one  of  them  informed  our  friend,  "You 
people  who  are  trying  to  change  our  beliefs,  have 
innumerable  prisons;  the  inmates  are  increasing 
rapidly  although  many  more,  equally  guilty,  remain 
outside  augmenting  the  percentage  of  crime  enor- 
mously. Lying,  stealing,  lust,  murder,  and  all  the 
brutal  instincts  are  in  evidence  in  your  Christian 
country,  more,  in  fact,  than  in  this,  that  you  are 
trying  to  proselyte.  What  will  be  the  gain?" 
It  would  seem  best  for  the  missionaries  to  Chris- 


99 

tianize  their  own  country  first,  so  that  it  will  show 
up  as  a  true  model  for  others  to  follow.  A  very 
good  piece  of  advice,  often  given,  is  to  "Mind  your 
own  business  and  others  will  take  care  of  their 
own." 

Going  back  to  the  young  lady  teacher,  she  was 
informed  of  the  result  of  the  interview  with  the 
Godlike  Sing  Lee,  and  was  told  that  the  old  sin- 
ner was  only  trying  to  get  a  knowledge  of  English, 
that  he  was  pretending  to  be  converted,  as  a  cloak, 
and  our  friend  again  urged  her  to  give  up  the  work 
she  was  engaged  in;  but  no,  she  had  faith.  She 
died  in  seven  or  eight  months,  a  martyr  to  a  mis- 
conception of  her  duty. 

Our  friend  belonged  to  an  institution  that  had 
as  a  fellow-member  a  young  man  who  had  worked 
hard  in  establishing  a  business  from  which  he  ob- 
tained, at  this  time  a  good  income.  He  had  never 
taken  a  vacation,  but  concluded  as  he  had  every- 
thing in  shape,  to  go  up  to  Red  Woods  for  a  well- 
deserved  rest  and  relaxation.  He  purshased  a 
valuable  shotgun  and  fishing  tackle,  and  started  in 
good  spirits  for  the  land  of  recreation.  His  wife 
and  family  did  not  hear  from  him  and  naturally 
got  alarmed  concerning  his  safety.  All  loved  the 
man  as  he  was  a  cheery,  whole-souled,  noble  charac- 
ter, who  took  up  with  spirit  the  various  activities 
that  the  society  was  noted  for.  The  wife,  one  of 
the  best  of  women,  informed  the  mutual  friends 


100 

of  the  Order  concerning  the  long  absence  and  the 
anxiety  created  by  it.  Amongst  the  members  was 
an  ex-sheriff  of  a  northern  county  who  was  one  of 
the  bravest  of  men  and  had  the  love  and  respect  of 
all  that  knew  him.  He  was  for  years  the  largest 
building  contractor  in  San  Francisco.  The  society 
appointed  him,  with  a  companion,  to  go  up  to  the 
Red  Woods  to  try,  if  possible,  to  locate  our  missing 
member.  The  committee  returned  in  five  days  with 
a  full  report.  They  had  not  been  in  the  locality 
more  than  one  day  when  they  heard  of  a  greaser 
who  had,  when  in  his  cups,  made  mention  of  a 
stranger  who  had  met  his  death  by  his  hand.  The 
clue  was  followed  up  and  soon  he  was  found  in  a 
shanty  with  others  of  the  same  sort.  On  entering, 
they  found  the  shotgun  that  was  stolen.  The  fellow 
was  immediately  arrested,  and  under  natural  per- 
suasion, admitted  the  murder.  He  was  taken  to  the 
spot  and  located  the  body  under  a  mass  of  soft 
earth.  Then,  without  fuss  and  feathers,  he  became 
an  ornament  to  a  tree,  hanging  there  like  an  ex- 
clamation point,  giving  emphasis  to  the  injunction, 
"Thou  shalt  not  kill."  This  was  all  done  quietly 
and  with  due  decorum,  no  grand  jury  or  term  jury, 
no  lawyers  or  judges  lost  any  time  in  the  proceed- 
ings ;  appeals  were  out  of  order,  but  true  justice 
was  satisfied. 

The  committee  brought  the  body  of  their  deceased 
comrade  with  them  on  their  return,  and  he  received 


10 1 

the  burial  rites  of  the  Order  in  due  form.  This 
was  another  case  where  the  man  and  brother  theory 
did  not  jibe  when  a  greaser  was  in  the  case. 

A  telegram  was  received  by  our  friend  from  his 
wife  stating  that  she  was  sick  on  a  ranch  where 
she  was  summering,  up  in  the  foothills  of  Sonoma 
County.  Therefore,  she  had  to  be  reached  by  cross- 
ing the  bay  and  taking  a  team  to  the  destination. 
On  arriving  at  the  livery  stable  it  was  found  that 
a  driver  could  not  be  obtained  on  account  of  its 
being  a  holiday.  A  good  pair  of  horses  was  fur- 
nished, and  a  diagram  of  the  trip  was  laid  out  so 
that  no  mistake  could  be  made  as  regards  the  road. 
A  start  was  made  just  before  dusk.  The  last  in- 
junction was  given  not  to  use  the  whip  on  the  ani- 
mails  as  they  were  frisky.  Slow  progress  up  the 
mountain  was  made.  It  became  so  dark  that  the 
horses  heads  could  not  be  seen.  They  were  driven 
with  slack  lines  so  that  they  would  depend  upon 
themselves  for  direction.  After  several  hours,  the 
horses  refused  to  go  any  further.  They  stood  stock 
still.  All  urging  was  useless.  Our  friend  got 
aggravated,  and  just  as  he  was  ready  to  grasp  the 
whip,  a  voice  came  back  from  the  front,  saying  in 
maudlin  tones:  "What  ish  the  masher?" 

It  was  evident  that  the  driver  in  a  stalled  team 
ahead,  had  been  lying  in  a  drunken  sleep  on  his 
box.  "Get  out  of  the  way.  Start  up  your  team." 

Soon  the  creaking  sound  ahead  denoted  the  move- 


IO2 

ment  and  the  fellow  called  back:  "Whar's  yous 
going  ?" 

He  was  given  the  information,  rather  tartly,  and 
the  procession  moved  along.  Then  the  command 
came  out  of  the  darkness,  "Pull  yer  right  rein." 

On  this  side  was  a  blank  stone  cutting  extend- 
ing up  indefinitely,  so  the  order  was  not  immedi- 
ately obeyed.  Again  the  order  came  in  imperative 
tones:  "Pull  yer  right  rein,  damn  ye." 

Spasmodically  the  order  was  obeyed  and  ouf 
friend  made  a  sharp  turn  up  a  road  that  he  could 
not  have  possibly  found  in  the  blackness  without 
help.  Therefore,  giving  the  teamster  a  parting 
benediction,  he  proceeded  up  to  the  ranch. 

The  next  morning,  with  his  wife  nicely  stowed 
in  the  landau,  the  start  was  made  for  the  city. 
When  they  got  to  the  place  on  the  road  where  the 
team  had  been  met  the  previous  night,  it  was  found 
that  two  wheels  of  the  landau  were  within  six 
inches  of  a  steep,  rocky  descent  of  at  least  three 
hundred  feet.  If  the  whip  had  been  used  on  those 
skittish  horses,  they  would,  in  prancing,  have 
dashed  all  below  on  the  rocks,  to  inevitable  death. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

What  was  known  as  the  Amador  War  occurred 
about  this  time.  The  miners  had  struck  in  the 
mines  of  Sutter  Creek,  Amador  County,  and  re- 
fused to  allow  others  to  work.  They  stopped  the 
pumps  taking  out  the  water  from  the  deep  workings 
and  they  were  beginning  to  be  flooded.  This  action 
would  have  destroyed  those  mines,  thus  causing 
immense  loss  to  the  owners,  also  great  misery  to 
the  population  that  depended  entirely  on  the  mines 
for  support.  The  Governor  ordered  the  militia 
battalion  that  our  friend  belonged  to,  up  in  the  dis- 
turbed region.  Only  three  hours  were  allowed  the 
men  for  preparation.  When  the  orders  to  march 
reached  his  store  he  was  out,  and  on  his  return  in 
about  one  hour,  hurried  arrangements  were  made 
to  leave  the  business.  It  was  hard  work  and  he 
got  to  the  armory  after  the  battalion  had  left  for 
the  ferry.  Hurriedly  donning  his  uniform,  a  rush 
was  made  to  catch  up.  Arriving  at  the  ferry,  he 
found  Out  that  the  boat  had  pulled  out  a  distance 
of  at  least  six  feet.  Springing  across  the  opening 
with  a  powerful  effort,  he  landed  on  deck,  back 
down,  with  a  thump  that  caused  momentary  in- 
sensibility. 

The  battalion  was  armed  with  old  Springfield 
muzzle  loading  rifles.  These  were  retained  in  the 
armory,  and  sixteen  shot  automatic  rifles  were 


IO4 

given  the  men  on  the  boat ;  also  each  man  was  given 
two  navy  revolvers  to  hang  on  his  belt.  After 
leaving  the  boat,  cars  were  taken  for  a  long  dis- 
tance, after  which  the  troops  tramped  up  the 
mountain  roads. 

A  comical  event  happened  when  the  men  came 
upon  a  toll  gate  attended  by  a  woman.  She  would 
not  allow  the  army  to  pass  until  toll  was  paid. 
Arguments  were  of  no  avail — pay  or  no  passage. 
The  boys  wanted  to  tear  away  the  gate,  but  the 
officers  collected  the  necessary  amount  and  then 
forged  ahead. 

Soon  a  deep  cut  in  the  road  was  met.  Some 
striking  miners  were  collected  high  up  on  the  sides. 
They  began  to  fire  off  their  pistols,  mostly  hurrah 
shots  however,  although  some  of  the  balls  fell 
amongst  the  boys.  Our  friend  was  the  only  one 
in  the  force  who  had  been  under  fire.  He  noticed 
a  wavering  and  felt  that  a  stampede  was  imminent. 
That  would  have  been  bad  for  the  troop ;  therefore 
he  sang  out.  "The  first  man  that  starts  for  the 
rear  will  be  shot." 

The  boys  heard,  and  bracing  up,  marched  through 
to  the  first  camp  ground.  The  Sibley  tents  were 
pitched  and  the  boys  placed  their  rifles  around  the 
centre  poles,  hanging  their  belts  with  the  two  pistols 
on  them  over  the  muzzles.  Soon  a  call  was  made 
that  caused  our  friend  to  get  his  accoutrements. 
He  went  to  take  his  belt  and  pistols,  and  as  he  did 


105 

so  he  touched  the  adjoining  belt  that  had  not  been 
correctly  attached  so  that  it  fell  down.  The  butt 
of  a  pistol  struck  on  a  rock  which  caused  it  to 
explode.  The  ball  went  straight  upwards,  passing 
through  the  visor  of  his  cap  and  could  not  have 
been  more  than  one-eighth  of  an  inch  from  his 
head.  A  close  call,  rather. 

Then  commenced  a  month  of  the  most  arduous 
duties,  more  exacting  than  those  of  a  like  period 
at  any  time  during  the  Rebellion.  Every  night  the 
whole  force  was  on  guard  duty.  The  troops  were 
split  up  in  detachments  guarding  the  various  mines, 
subject  to  nightly  alarms  that  caused  irritation,  but 
no  actual  bloodshed  occurred. 

Although  the  duty  was  irksome,  still  there  oc- 
curred some  sport  and  diversion.  One  rainy  night 
a  dude  of  a  lieutenant  was  officer  of  the  day  and  at 
twelve  o'clock  it  was  his  duty  to  make  the  guard 
rounds.  Our  friend  was  waiting  for  him  on  his 
post.  He  heard  in  the  distance  his  approach  to 
the  various  guards,  and,  on  request,  giving  the 
countersign  without  descending  from  the  horse  that 
he  rode.  It  is  an  invariable  military  rule  for  a 
guard  to  prevent  the  approach  of  a  mounted  man 
closer  than  the  end  of  his  bayonet  on  his  rifle.  The 
countersign  is  always  to  be  given  in  a  whisper,  there- 
fore for  the  safety  of  the  guard,  the  countersign 
must  always  be  given  when  dismounted.  The  lieu- 
tenant approached.  Soon  was  heard : 


io6 

"Who  comes  there?" 

"Grand  rounds." 

"Advance  grand  rounds,  dismount  and  give  the 
countersign." 

The  lieutenant  continued  to  walk  his  horse  for- 
ward. The  rifle  was  brought  down  to  charge  and 
an  ominous  click  of  the  trigger  heard.  "Dismount" 
came  the  imperative  word. 

The  lieutenant  was  bundled  up  in  a  raincoat 
and  disliked  to  obey  in  the  heavy  rain.  He  was 
green  and  did  not  know  the  rules  of  the  service. 
He  exclaimed:  "You  know  me.  I  am  lieutenant 
of  your  company." 

"Dismount,  or  I  will  shoot." 

The  officer,  growling,  slipped  off  the  horse  and 
approaching,  gave  the  countersign.  He  then,  when 
remounting,  swore  that  he  would  report  the  im- 
pertinent sentry.  He  did,  and  only  got  for  his 
pains  the  order  to  learn  his  duties. 

There  was  in  the  battalion  a  man  untidy  in  dress 
and  manners;  but  otherwise  a  good  fellow.  The 
boys  determined  to  have  some  fun  at  his  expense. 
He  was  arrested  in  burlesque.  A  regular  court,  in 
due  form,  was  impaneled  with  our  friend  acting 
as  judge.  The  culprit  was  charged  with  the  crime 
of  "Not  spitting  beyond  his  chin."  The  trial  pro- 
ceeded with  witnesses  on  both  sides.  He  was  con- 
victed, and  the  judge  sentenced  him  to  be  tossed  in 
a  blanket.  The  penalty  was  carried  out  with  great 


107 

spirit  and  energy.  After  the  culprit  was  let  off, 
some  inane  rascal  sang  out,  "What  is  the  matter 
with  giving  the  judge  a  spell?"  It  was  unanimously 
agreed  to  and  in  a  second  the  august  judge  was  in 
the  blanket  being  tossed  up,  with  his  arms  and  legs 
so  mixed  that  he  could  hardly  tell  one  from  the 
other.  No  man  who  has  not  experienced  the  act 
of  being  tossed  in  a  blanket  can  conceive  of  its  dia- 
bolical nature. 

The  troops  returned  to  San  Francisco  after  a 
month's  drilling,  tough  and  hearty,  thoroughly 
broken  into  shape  as  true  soldiers.  They  had  slept 
on  the  ground  and  eaten  the  rough  rations  with  a 
relish.  They  marched  amid  the  applause  of  the 
multitude  up  to  the  armory  with  the  spirit  and  step 
of  true  veterans.  The  strike  had  been  declared  off 
and  everything  was  lovely. 

It  was  the  custom  of  our  friend  after  he  got  his 
business  in  condition,  to  pass  about  ten  days  up  in 
the  foothills  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  hunt- 
ing. A  party  would  be  gotten  together  by  one  who 
liked  that  kind  of  work.  He  would  buy  the  neces- 
sary tickets,  arrange  for  the  teams  and  purchase 
the  provender  of  all  kinds.  After  the  return  the 
costs  would  be  distributed  pro  rata.  It  was  sur- 
prising how  economical  the  arrangement  was  to 
each  member.  The  game  was  deer,  bears,  wild  cats, 
or  anything  else  that  walked  on  four  legs.  Some- 
times the  return  would  be  made  with  full  bags ; 


io8 

sometimes  the  only  result  worthy  of  mention  would 
be  the  elastic  step  and  the  hearty  appetites  of  men 
who  had  walked  over  the  blue,  distant  hills,  eager 
to  breathe  the  rarified  air  that  produced  a  rejuve- 
nating influence,  dispelling  the  cobwebs  that  are 
inclined  to  form  in  the  brains  of  city  workers. 

One  time,  after  getting  into  the  mountains,  the 
mud  wagon  was  slowly  proceeding  upwards.  The 
sun  had  set  on  the  team;  but  in  a  deep  gulch  run- 
ning east  and  west,  its  rays  shone  through.  At  its 
bottom,  at  least  six  hundred  yards  off,  our  friend 
noticed  a  jackass  rabbit  seated  on  a  rock.  The 
illumination  made  the  fellow  loom  up  to  a  great 
size.  He  ordered  the  team  to  stop.  Grasping  his 
rifle,  and  after  getting  a  good  bead  on  the  beast,  he 
fired.  The  rabbit  remained  in  position.  The  shot 
might  just  as  well  have  gone  off  in  the  next  county 
as  far  as  the  animal  was  concerned. 

Our  friend,  wondering  how  he  could  have  missed 
the  game,  stated  that  he  would  bet  a  twenty  dollar 
gold  piece  that  he  had  hit  the  animal.  Another 
member  of  the  party,  who  was  a  splendid  shot,  sang 
out :  "I  will  take  that  bet.  You  could  not  hit  a  barn 
door,"  and  at  the  same  time  brought  up  his  rifle. 
He  fired,  and  the  rabbit  fell  over  dead.  "That  is 
the  way  to  shoot,"  he  exclaimed,  "hand  over  your 
twenty  dollars."  No!  the  bet  was  that  the  rabbit 
was  hit,  and  the  only  way  to  prove  otherwise  was 
for  the  man  to  go  down  and  get  the  beast.  With 


log 

much  grumbling  he  started  down  the  rough,  rock- 
strewn  declivity.  On  returning,  with  hands  cut  on 
the  rocks  and  pantaloons  torn,  he  threw  the  rabbit 
at  the  feet  of  the  driver,  demanding  again  the  money 
in  aggravated  tones.  Our  friend  took  up  the  animal 
and  found  in  addition  to  the  bullet  hole  through  his 
body,  that  a  ball  had  made  a  fresh  passage  through 
one  of  his  long  ears,  thus  proving  that  the  first  shot 
had  taken  effect.  All  considered  it  strange  that  the 
animal  remained  in  position,  but  concluded  that  the 
bet,  as  made,  demanded  the  payment  to  our  friend 
instead  of  the  other  party.  The  money  was  paid 
over  with  sorrowful  memories  of  the  rough  descent 
and  climb. 

Fishing  parties  were  made  up  occasionally.  A 
tug  would  be  chartered  to  go  outside  the  heads  for 
a  day's  sport.  A  number  of  these  had  occurred  at 
various  times ;  but  there  would  always  be  more  or 
less  seasickness  aboard,  causing  discomfort  to  the 
rest.  One  day  a  friend  came  into  the  store  of  our 
friend  and  told  him  that  another  fishing  excursion 
was  being  organized ;  but  to  avoid  the  possibility 
of  seasickness,  only  seasoned  mariners  would  be  in- 
vited. The  time  arrived  and  there  was  a  nice  party 
aboard  of  the  tug.  They  were  all  gay,  and  anticipating 
the  best  of  times,  the  departure  was  made  through 
the  Golden  Gate,  or  the  heads  as  they  were  famil- 
iarly called.  Then  commenced  a  circus.  The  water 
was  in  a  naughty  mood.  Cross,  choppy  seas  would 


no 


throw  the  tug  almost  perpendicular,  and  before  she 
reached  an  even  keel  again,  would  broach  to,  send- 
ing green  water  over  the  rail,  making  her  roll  horri- 
bly. No  fishing  could  be  done.  Soon  all  were  try- 
ing to  hold  down  what  they  had,  without  any  desire 
to  acquire  fish  or  other  outside  things.  In  fact,  the 
only  ones  not  terribly  seasick  were  our  friend  and 
the  one  that  had  gotten  up  the  party.  No  future 
endeavors  were  made  in  the  direction  of  fishing 
parties.  All  had  enough  and  were  satisfied  to  re- 
main on  terra  firma. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Our  friend's  business  was  flourishing  and  the 
future  looked  rosy.  He  wished  to  add  another 
branch  to  his  manufacturing  plant,  and  thought  that 
a  trip  East  would  be  advisable  to  obtain  the  latest 
developments  as  shown  up  in  the  large  Eastern  fac- 
tories. Therefore,  with  that  view  in  mind,  the 
start  for  Philadelphia  was  made  over  the  Southern 
Pacific,  in  the  spring  of  1882.  When  near  Tucson, 
in  Arizona,  trouble  with  the  engine  occurred  and 
the  conductor  notified  the  passengers  that  it  would 
take  at  least  two  hours  to  make  repairs.  Our 
friend  roamed  off  to  an  army  post  in  a  village. 
While  standing  with  his  back  to  a  picket  fence,  he 


Ill 


noticed  an  Indian  marching  along  the  street  or  lane, 
in  all  the  glory  of  blankets  and  feathers.  He  came 
up,  walking  grandly  as  though  he  owned  the  whole 
country.  It  was  noticed  that  he  was  followed  by 
two  squaws  bearing  immense  loads  that  caused 
their  little  legs  to  bend  under  the  weight.  That  was 
disgusting,  and  naturally  the  call  was  made  to  place 
some  of  the  plunder  on  his  own  free  back.  When 
the  Indian  heard  the  order  he  grasped  a  long  knife 
out  of  his  belt  and  springing  at  the  speaker,  raised 
it  aloft  to  a  position  directly  over  the  left  breast. 
There  was  no  chance  to  escape  with  back  to  the 
fence,  and  being  unarmed,  his  chance  seemed  des- 
perate. At  that  instant  a  commanding  voice  in  the 
Indian  dialect  was  heard  coming  from  a  cross  lane, 
which  caused  the  holder  of  the  knife  to  bring  it 
down  in  a  hesitating  manner  to  his  side  with  a  scowl 
that  was  demoniacal.  Immediately  the  officer  sprang 
forward  and  demanded  to  know  what  was  said  to 
the  Indian.  He  was  told.  The  reply  was:  "You 
are  a  d — m  fool ;  that  is  the  most  insulting  talk  you 
can  give  an  Indian,  to  take  a  load  off  a  squaw's  back 
and  place  it  on  his  own."  All  this  took  place  with- 
in a  few  seconds.  If  the  officer  had  not  been  on 
hand,  the  knife  would  have  descended  to  the  death 
of  our  friend.  The  officer  informed  that  the  Indian 
was  a  famous  chief  who  had  been  captured  by  the 
army  after  he  had  slaughtered  hundreds  of  the  set- 
tlers. He  had  the  liberty  of  the  army  post  but  was 


112 


not  allowed  outside  of  the  guards.  He  should  have 
been  planted  six  feet  under  ground  when  captured. 
This  would  have  made  him  a  good  Indian,  according 
to  Western  ideas. 

On  arriving  in  Philadelphia,  the  manufactories 
were  inspected  to  gain  points  concerning  the  arti- 
cle that  our  friend  was  interested  in. 

Then  a  trip  was  made  to  New  York.  When  the 
lad  left  that  city,  twenty  years  before,  it  was  a 
village  compared  to  what  it  was  at  this  time.  When 
he  left,  the  Astor  House  was  the  best  hotel  and  the 
most  prominent  building  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
city,  and  to  that  place  his  footsteps  were  directed. 
Perplexity  resulted  from  observing  the  Post  Office 
and  the  lofty  buildings  on  Park  Row.  He  did  not 
know  where  he  was  and  walked  up  and  down  on 
Broadway  several  times  in  search  of  the  Astor 
House.  Not  finding  the  large  building  that  was  in 
his  memory,  he  asked  a  police  officer  to  point  it  out. 
"You  are  standing  right  in  front  of  it,"  was  his 
answer.  Disgusted  with  its  mean  appearance,  our 
friend  entered  and  put  up  for  the  night. 

Everything  had  changed,  including  the  customs 
of  the  people  and  on  the  whole  our  friend  was  disap- 
pointed. A  visit  was  made  to  the  one  who  manu- 
factured the  article,  the  agency  for  which  he  thought 
he  had  controlled  years  before.  The  business  was 
found  to  be  in  a  demoralized  condition.  Incapacity 
of  management  was  noticeable.  On  meeting  with 


H3 

the  proprietor  confidences  were  exchanged  and  after 
a  few  days,  hints  of  a  possible  change  of  base  of  our 
friend  from  the  West  to  the  East  were  given, 
although  nothing  definite  was  decided  upon. 

Soon  after  reaching  San  Francisco  a  letter  was 
received  offering  a  position  in  the  manufacturing 
business.  The  salary  was  stated  and  it  was  left 
to  our  friend  to  accept  or  not.  It  is  hard  to  form 
an  idea  why  after  a  few  days,  an  answer  was  sent 
accepting  the  proposition.  The  amount  offered  was 
less  than  was  drawn  out  of  his  business,  which  was 
in  a  flourishing  condition.  To  give  up  an  indepen- 
dent, growing  trade,  to  accept  a  position  under  a 
salary,  seems  even  now  to  have  been  foolish;  but 
otherwise  the  case  presented  to  our  friend  was  that 
there  appeared  to  be  a  future  in  the  new  departure. 
In  its  present  working  it  was  small.  It  was  han- 
dled contrary  to  all  business  principles.  Also  the 
factory  help,  as  well  as  the  office  force,  was  perme- 
ated with  dishonesty.  Our  friend  saw  all  this,  and 
his  natural  combative  disposition  was  aroused  and 
he  determined  to  correct  and  place  the  business  on  a 
plane  which  it  deserved. 

Therefore,  he  went  to  his  partner  and  told  him 
it  was  a  case  of  buying  or  selling;  that  he  must  buy 
out  the  interests  of  our  friend  or  allow  him  to  buy. 
After  some  delay,  the  partner  decided  to  buy  on  the 
very  favorable  terms  offered,  which  was  for  a  small 
amount  of  cash  and  notes  payable  in  installments 


114 

for  a  long  term  of  years.  It  might  be  stated  that  the 
cash  was  paid  over  and  three  or  four  notes  when 
due.  The  partner  was  no  business  man  and  allowed 
the  trade  to  slip  through  his  hands,  causing  him  to 
fail,  leaving  the  major  part  of  the  notes  unpaid. 

After  cleaning  up  in  San  Francisco,  a  Panama 
steamer  was  taken  for  the  East.  The  Panama 
Steamship  Company  at  the  time  had  a  secret  agree- 
ment with  the  railroad  companies  to  discourage 
passenger  traffic  over  the  ship  route,  they  receiving 
a  large  amount  of  money  in  lieu  of  the  trade.  This 
fact  was  not  known,  however,  by  our  friend,  who 
would  not  have  engaged  passage  had  he  known  of 
it.  He  found  the  ship  badly  provisioned  and  most 
articles  ran  out  before  reaching  Panama.  It  was 
intensely  hot  and  the  ice  gave  out  before  getting  as 
far  south  as  Cape  St.  Lucas.  When  reaching  Pana- 
ma, a  few  hours  elapsed  before  the  train  could  be 
taken  for  Colon  across  the  Isthmus.  Entering  the 
hotel  for  lunch,  the  tables  were  found  loaded  with 
big  joints  of  meat  and  swarming  around  were  im- 
mense numbers  of  flies,  disputing  with  the  guests 
every  mouthful  of  food  that  entered  their  mouths. 
The  French  were  digging  the  canal  at  the  time 
(1882),  and  the  officers  occupied  the  tables,  eating 
that  heavy  food,  washing  it  down  at  first  with  wine 
ordinary  then  with  heavy  Burgundy,  and  topping 
off  with  brandy.  Considering  the  climate,  such  food 
was  entirely  out  of  place.  Our  friend  lost  what 


US 

little  appetite  he  had  and  got  up  from  the  table  be- 
fore being  served.  He  went  out  on  the  piazza.. 
Soon  one  of  the  Frenchmen  came  out  and  sat  along- 
side of  him.  He  began  to  talk,  asking  if  our  friend 
was  a  new  arrival.  Our  friend  expressed  surprise 
at  the  guests  eating  such  heavy  food.  The  French- 
man, who  was  mellow  with  drink,  replied  that  "they 
did  not  expect  to  live  over  six  months  and  were 
determined  to  live  well  while  they  did  live."  Our 
friend  asked  when  the  canal  would  be  finished.  The 
reply  was:  "Nev-ah!  the  control  of  the  Chagres 
River  has  not  been  placed  on  the  trestle  board  and 
that  could  never  be  overcome." 

After  the  Frenchman  left,  the  proprietor  of  the 
hotel  was  asked  the  name  of  the  stranger.  He  gave  it 
and  stated  that  he  was  the  head  engineer  of  the 
western  division.  That  did  not  show  much  confi- 
dence in  the  ultimate  results. 

The  cars  started  across  the  Isthmus,  going  not 
over  eight  miles  an  hour,  passing  six  engines  that  had 
toppled  off  the  track.  If  any  of  the  rolling  stock  got 
off  the  metals,  it  was  allowed  to  rest  there.  No 
endeavor  to  replace  was  made.  In  fact  the  whole 
affair  seemed  to  be  a  joke.  A  good  healthy  hen,  if 
it  had  scratched  over  the  line  of  canal  would  have 
produced  about  as  much  effect. 

After  this  visit,  and  with  knowledge  of  the  various 
surveys  made  for  many  years  back,  for  a  waterway 
between  the  two  oceans,  our  friend  became  firm  in 


n6 

his  opinion  that  the  Panama  route  was  the  worst 
that  could  have  been  selected.  The  Nicaragua  loca- 
tion was  far  preferable.  The  experts,  in  their  final 
report,  when  the  Americans  took  hold,  stated  that 
the  Nicaragua  passage  would  cost  five  millions  more 
than  the  Panama ;  but  that  was  based  on  a  cost  that 
has  already  been  exceeded  by  an  astounding  figure 
and  the  end  is  still  far  in  the  distance.  We  wanted 
to  get  communication  between  our  East  and  West 
coasts  and  should  not  have  gone  many  hundreds  of 
miles  to  the  southard.  Another  objection  that  did 
not  receive  attention  was  the  fact  that  Panama  lies 
in  the  doldrums,  a  region  that  is  liable  to  weeks  of 
calms,  and  for  a  sailing  vessel  to  be  placed  in  such 
a  position  will  be  disastrous.  But  it  will  be  said  the 
sailing  vessels  are  obsolete.  That  is  not  the  case, 
for  with  the  rising  price  of  coal  and  the  increasing 
cost  of  engineers  and  firemen,  there  will  be  a  new 
era  of  sailing  craft  that  can  be  run  at  a  tithe  of  the 
cost  of  steamers.  The  additional  time  taken  in  pas- 
sage will  cut  a  small  figure  on  bulky  freight  along- 
side of  the  additional  rates  in  steam  bottoms.  There 
would  be  no  difficulty  on  the  Atlantic  or  Pacific  re- 
garding wind  if  the  Nicaragua  route  had  been 
selected. 

In  due  time  the  steamer  arrived  in  New  York 
harbor,  from  Colon,  and  our  friend  was  soon  har- 
nessed up  to  his  new  duties.  He  found  the  business 
in  a  worse  condition  than  he  anticipated.  The  patent 


117 

on  which  the  trade  depended  would  run  out  in  three 
years.  Nothing  was  thought  out  and  nothing  done 
for  the  future.  There  was  only  a  small  putting- 
together  shop  for  the  material,  purchased  from  out- 
side manufacturers.  This  condition  was  aggravated 
by  a  disloyal,  dishonest  office  force,  in  connection 
with  a  factory  force  without  discipline  and  in  some 
cases  dishonest  also.  It  was  a  tough  position  to  be 
thrown  in;  but  with  a  spirit  of  determination  he 
buckled  down  to  the  job.  In  time  the  factory  was 
under  complete  discipline  and  as  soon  as  possible 
the  dishonest  characters  were  rooted  out;  but  the 
principal  trouble  came  from  the  office.  It  continued 
to  purchase  materials  at  exorbitant  prices  and  threw 
every  obstacle  possible  in  the  way  of  conducting 
business  properly.  BflDCTOit  Library 

Why  these  men  were  kept  on  after  proof  of  their 
dishonesty  was  known,  was  beyond  the  ken  of  our 
friend ;  but  the  fact  remains,  that  they  kept  him  in  hot 
water  for  three  years.  Meanwhile,  things  were  be- 
ginning to  happen.  The  costs  of  material  were  being 
reduced  immensely  through  the  personal  endeavors 
of  our  friend,  against  the  clamor  of  the  office.  Build- 
ings were  started  for  more  room  and  machinery  in- 
stalled to  produce  the  work  economically.  The  in- 
ventive genius  of  our  friend  was  exercised  in  the 
product  of  patents  that  staggered  the  imitators  who 
sprang  up  rapidly  to  take  advantage  of  the  lapsed 
original  patent.  A  trademark  was  adopted  and  sys- 


tematic  advertising  conducted.  The  goodwill  of  the 
trade  was  inculcated.  This  goodwill  had  been  sorely 
strained  by  the  dogmatic  methods  of  the  previous 
force,  and  when  they  had  been  gotten  rid  of,  our 
friend  collected  around  him  one  of  the  finest  body  of 
honest  men  that  ever  got  together  in  the  interest  of 
any  business.  It  is  the  firm  opinion  of  our  friend 
that  if  he  had  not  appeared  on  the  scene  when  he  did, 
the  business  would  have  gone  to  the  dogs;  for  in- 
capacity was  in  the  saddle  and  could  not  have  held 
the  trade  in  a  competitive  market.  The  plant  was 
in  no  condition  for  a  fight  and  there  was  no  one 
with  sufficient  talent  to  improve  the  works  to  the 
extent  necessary.  Every  day  of  the  previous  ex- 
perience had  been  preparing  our  friend  for  this 
ordeal.  He  had  studied  humanity  under  all  condi- 
tions, and  had  come  out  schooled  in  the  ways  of  men. 
He  succeeded  because  he  had  learned  how.  Several 
times  when  subjected  to  the  irritating  interferences 
of  the  old  gang,  he  thought  of  giving  up  the  fight,  but 
after  consideration,  he  made  up  his  mind  that  this 
action  would  be  cowardly. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

It  can  be  imagined  that  the  strife  and  turmoil  con- 
tinued for  many  years  had  not  improved  our  friend 
physically.  He  needed  a  rest.  He  sorely  missed 
the  fishing  and  hunting  expeditions  indulged  in  dur- 
ing his  stay  on  the  Western  Coast.  It  had  been  a 
continual  grind  for  over  thirteen  years  without  any 
intermission.  Also  the  export  trade  needed  looking 
up.  It  was  a  negligible  quantity  as  yet,  but  there 
were  indications  that  an  improvement  could  be  made. 

Therefore,  passage  was  engaged  on  the  Hamburg- 
American  steamer  Furst  Bismarck  in  May,  1895. 
for  Europe.  This  was  the  fastest  boat  at  that  time 
on  the  ocean.  It  was  a  stormy  passage.  The  ex- 
treme speed  of  the  vessel  while  plunging  in  the 
heavy  seas  made  the  many  passengers  wish  they 
were  ashore,  but  our  friend  enjoyed  the  experience. 
It  put  him  in  mind  of  old  times.  He  was  on  deck 
most  of  the  time  viewing  the  tossing  waters  with 
great  pleasure.  All  his  clothing  got  full  of  salt 
brine  that  did  not  improve  them  much.  The  spoon 
drift  at  times  dashed  up,  descending  in  the  smoke 
stacks.  It  was  lively  and  grand.  One  day  at  lunch 
there  were  only  three  in  the  dining  hall.  One  was 
the  captain  and  one  a  fellow  passenger  with  our 
friend.  An  article  of  food  when  started  for  the 
mouth  was  liable  to  come  in  contact  with  the  ear  or 
some  other  part  of  the  anatomy.  It  was  rough.  An 


120 

officer  came  down  and  whispered  to  the  captain 
who  immediately  got  up  and  went  on  deck.  Shortly 
after  he  left  the  vessel  was  going  along  easily  and 
we  finished  our  meal  in  comfort.  On  reaching  the 
deck,  our  friend  found  the  reason  for  slowing  down 
the  steamer.  She  had  struck  a  mighty  wave  that 
had  stove  in  the  forward  cabins,  flooding  them  and 
twisting  the  heavy  boat  davits  on  the  port  side  as 
though  they  were  made  of  putty.  This  and  other 
experiences  on  steamers  caused  our  friend  to  form 
the  opinion  that  no  vessel  should  be  driven  through 
seas  at  a  speed  of  over  sixteen  knots.  In  fact,  if 
passengers  want  comfort,  thirteen  or  fourteen  knots 
should  not  be  exceeded. 

One  night  on  the  passage  when  our  friend  was 
sleeping  in  his  cabin,  he  was  awakened  by  a  crash 
and  grating  sound.  The  ladies  occupying  the  sur- 
rounding cabins  began  to  cry  out  that  the  ship  was 
lost  and  kept  up  the  hubbub  until  our  friend  got  out 
of  patience.  He  exclaimed :  "Keep  quiet !  go  to 
sleep"  for  that  was  what  he  wanted  to  do,  well 
knowing  that  if  any  serious  damage  had  been  re- 
ceived, the  stewards  would  have  notified  the  pas- 
sengers. But  no,  they  continued  their  noisy  excla- 
mations, preventing  slumber,  so  he  dressed  and 
went  out  on  deck.  He  found  that  a  French  boat 
loaded  with  sugar  from  the  West  Indies  had  got  out 
of  her  reckoning  and  was  lying  to  with  no  lights  out, 
in  the  path  of  ocean  steamers.  Our  vessel  coming 


121 

along  at  twenty-two  knots  an  hour  had  cut  off  her 
bowsprit  close  up  to  the  craft.  Her  flying  jibboom 
had  gone  through  a  port  hole  over  a  sleeping  pas- 
senger, who  sprang  out  of  his  berth  in  consterna- 
tion,  exclaiming  that  he  was  killed.  The  steamer 
immediately  stopped  and  waited  in  the  black  night 
for  the  dawn  to  reveal  the  action  necessary.  In  the 
early  morning,  before  objects  could  be  seen  defi- 
nitely, our  friend  while  leaning  over  the  rail,  saw 
the  vessel  like  a  mere  shadow  away  off  in  the  dis- 
tance. The  mate  came  up  at  that  instant  and  also 
looked  intently  at  the  shadowy  object.  Our  friend 
remarked  that  the  craft  had  lost  her  foretopmast. 
Afterwards,  when  light  had  come,  and  the  vessel 
was  plainly  seen  without  her  upper  spar,  the  mate 
came  again  and  remarked,  "How  could  you  tell  in 
the  darkness  that  the  mast  was  carried  away  ?"  The 
reply  was  that  the  carrying  away  of  the  bowsprit 
would  cause  the  loss  of  the  headstays,  and  then  the 
spar  would  inevitably  break  off  in  the  heavy  sea, 
for  there  was  nothing  to  support  it.  The  mate 
could  not  follow  for  he  was  a  steamer  sailor  and 
knew  nothing  about  sailing  craft. 

A  boat  was  lowered  and  pulled  to  the  bark.  The 
German  sailors  sounded  the  pumps  and  found  the 
craft  did  not  make  any  water,  that  she  was  sound 
and  as  good  as  ever.  On  returning  with  the  report, 
they  also  brought  the  demand  of  the  French  cap- 
tain and  crew  that  they  wanted  to  be  taken  off; 


122 

that  they  wanted  to  give  up  the  ship.  They  were 
evidently  scared.  Therefore,  German  volunteers 
were  sent  aboard  and  the  French  crew  were  taken 
aboard  the  steamer.  It  was  amusing  to  see  the 
transfer  of  provisions,  for  the  Germans  could  not 
use  the  provisions  of  the  Frenchmen,  who  also 
would  not  feed  on  stores  of  the  sauerkrauters.  The 
vin  ordinaire,  bread,  etc.,  of  the  French  boat  came 
aboard  and  sausages,  etc.,  of  the  Germans  went  out 
in  return.  It  was  a  cowardly  surrender  of  a  vessel 
and  its  cargo.  The  steamer  waited  until  the  Ger- 
man crew  rigged  out  a  spar  for  the  bowsprit,  and 
then  sailed  away  with  a  big  amount  of  salvage  in 
view. 

The  first  visit  was  made  to  study  up  the  require- 
ments of  the  different  countries.  Much  information 
was  gathered  and  after  two  more  trips  abroad,  good 
agents  were  appointed,  which  increased  the  busi- 
ness very  materially.  Since  then  a  voyage  was 
made  every  year  to  Europe,  making  up  to  the 
present  time  (1911)  sixteen  round  trips,  or  thirty- 
two  single  trips  across  the  Atlantic.  The  advan- 
tage to  the  business  has  been  incalculable.  The 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  different  peoples  in 
France,  Germany,  Switzerland,  Austria-Hungary, 
Italy,  Spain,  Turkey,  Belgium,  Roumania,  Russia. 
Denmark,  Finland,  Norway,  Sweden,  England, 
Ireland  and  Scotland,  has  been  very  useful.  Their 
architecture  was  thoroughly  studied  and  a  knowl- 


123 

edge  of  their  capacity  to  assimilate  the  goods  was 
noted. 

The  Americans  have  much  to  learn  from  the  old 
countries.  While  they  have  been  ultra  conservative 
in  many  ways,  kept  back  by  absurd  religious  dog- 
mas and  beliefs,  their  methods  in  many  other  ways 
are  praiseworthy.  The  politeness  is  always  agreea- 
bly noticed.  The  curtness  and  in  some  cases,  the  in- 
civility of  the  Americans,  could  be  changed  to  the 
European  standards  with  great  benefit. 

The  hardships  at  times  of  European  travel,  the 
contretemps  arising  principally  from  not  having  a 
working  knowledge  of  the  different  tongues,  and 
the  irksomeness  created  through  the  red  tape  of 
officialdom,  had  better  be  left  to  those  who  have 
experienced,  or  to  those  who  will  in  future  travel 
the  road  to  experience.,  so  they  will  be  left  out  of 
this  narrative. 

There  is  a  type  of  annoyance,  however,  that  our 
friend  has  noticed  all  over  Europe,  principally 
caused,  he  believes,  from  government  ownership ; 
that  is,  flat  wheels  on  steam  cars  formed  by  the 
brakes  wearing  the  wheels  off  from  the  round.  In 
some  cases  he  has  found  the  wheels  almost  octa- 
gon in  shape.  The  passage  of  such  over  the  rails 
causes  a  thumpity-thump  motion  that  is  exquisite 
torture.  Why  the  authorities  allow  them  to  re- 
main smashing  down  the  roadbed,  is  beyond  the  ken 
of  anybody  except  a  government  official.  On  one 


124 

journey  from  Trieste  to  Budapest  which  occupied 
twelve  hours  of  intensely  hot  weather,  these  flat 
wheels  were  in  evidence.  They  got  on  his  nerves. 
They  were  enough  to  change  a  Christian  into  a 
cannibal.  While  sweltering  in  the  heat  and  cov- 
ered with  thick  dust,  he  determined  to  do  some- 
thing desperate  when  he  arrived  in  the  hotel.  There- 
fore, after  a  bath  and  a  good  dinner,  he,  like  Silas 
Wegg,  dropped  into  poetry  and  produced  the  fol- 
lowing atrocity: 

Creeping  out  the  bahnhof,  clean  and  gay, 

Passing  houses,  rear  in  view, 
Away  from  man's  laborious  day, 

Into  the  glorious  country, 
Wheel  flat  on  the  right,  wheel  flat  on  the  left, 

We  went  pound,  pounding  on  the  rail. 
Past  villages,  red  tiled  in   the  vale, 

Villas  on  the  steeps, 
Thump,  thumping  on  the  rail. 

What  ho !  man  striking  a  woman, 
Rock  intervening?     No,   only  kissing  of  her. 

Throb,   throbbing  on   the   rail. 
Past  mountains  high,  valleys  deep, 

B'ump,  bumping  on  the  rail. 
Into  the  bahnhof  gliding,  weary,  dirty,  happy, 

No  more  to  hear  hump,  humping  on  the  rail. 

As  poetry  it  is  abominable;  but  no  worse  than 
he  felt  while  being  tortured.  So  please  accept  it 
in  lieu  of  profanity,  which  would  be  natural  under 
the  circumstances. 


THE  END. 


